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DOCUMENTS DlVtSJOftj 


















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CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Introduction_$_ 1 

The rural-school project- 1 

The one-room schools_ 1 

The field for consolidation--- 2 

Nature of the problem--- 2 

The scope of this study_ 4 

Chapter I. The history and development of consolidation and transporta- 

1. The period from 1S40 to 1880- 5 

Consolidation in cities and towns- 5 

Opposition to the independent district_ 6 

The incorporation one school district in newer States_ 6 

Uniting incorporated and unincorporated territory_ 6 

Consolidation through unions of districts or schools_ 7 

The value of union school laws- 7 

The town or township unit in bringing about consolidation_ 8 

The township unit but little help in consolidation_ 8 

The township in secondary education_ 9 

The effect of limiting districts on consolidation_ 9 

Early laws typical of present-day consolidation laws_ 10 

Early attempts at transportation- 10 

Summary of consolidation and transportation in 1880_ 11 

2. The period from 1880 to 1804- 11 

Growth of the town system- 11 

School laws of new States- 12 

Consolidation laws in New Jersey, Nebraska, Florida, and 

Texas_—- 12 

Central graded schools and unions of districts_ 12 

Transportation- 13 

The Massachusetts report- 13 

3. The period from 1894 to 1910- 13 

National interest- 13 

Early rural consolidation in the Middle States- 14 

Early rural consolidation in the Southern States_ 14 

Early rural consolidation in the Western States_ 15 

Early rural consolidation in New York, Pennsylvania and 

West Virginia- 15 

Growth of the town system- 1G 

The extension of school transportation during the period_ 16 

Transportation in lieu of a local school- 16 

Transportation as a part of consolidation_ 1G 

Permissive transportation under general terms_ 17 

Summary of consolidation and transportation in 1910_ 17 

in 









































IV 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter I. The history and development of consolidation and transporta¬ 
tion—Continued. Page. 

4. The period from 1910 to 1922- 19 

Territorial extension of consolidation- 19 

Territorial extension of transportation- 20 

Reports of expenditures for transportation- 20 

Chronological summary of first consolidation and transporta¬ 
tion laws_ 20 

Educational developments helping to strengthen consolidation- 22 

The State-wide survey_ 22 

Extension of the county-unit plan- 24 

The growth of high schools- 25 

Increases in State aid_ 26 

National cooperation in education- 32 

Growth of teacher training- 34 

State divisions of rural education_ 34 

The relation of economic forces to consolidation- 34 

Characteristics of the history of consolidation-. 35 

An evaluation of the consolidation and transportation move¬ 
ment _ 37 

Chapter II. The present status of consolidation_ 41 

1. Forms of consolidation- 41 

Complete_ 41 

Partial_ 42 

Complete and partial as to territory_ 43 

Forms of centralized schools not commonly considered con¬ 
solidations_ 43 

Unusual forms_ 44 

2. A statistical measure of consolidation and transportation_ 46 

An indirect and relative measure_ 46 

A direct measure_ 54 

Data for transportation_ 57 

Chapter III. A statement of consolidation and transportation in each 

State_ 59 

States in which the town or township system has been a considerable 

factor in consolidation_ 59 

States in which the county as a unit has been a considerable factor 

in consolidation_ 82 

States in which consolidation is being effected through a district 

system___ 99 

States having relatively little consolidation_ 126 

States that have so provided for high schools as to make the need for 

consolidation of elementary schools less keenly felt_ 131 

A system of schools administered directly by the State department of 

education_ 134 


































CONSOLIDATION OP SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTA¬ 
TION OF PUPILS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The rural school project .—The rural school project of the conti¬ 
nental United States consists in educating over 18 millions of young 
people between the ages of 5 and 20 who live in small towns and 
villages or in the open country. The 300,000 or more schools classi¬ 
fied as rural enrolled nearly 12£ millions of pupils in 1920, employed 
425,000 teachers, supervisors, and principals, expended $391,000,000, 
and have a property investment of not less than $767,000,000. In 
number of schools, enrollment, attendance, and teaching corps, the 
rural project is larger than the urban project; in expenditure and 
permanent investment it is less. 

The one-room schools .—Two years ago at least one-fourth of the 
rural school enrollment and 45 per cent of the rural teaching corps 
were in 187,951 one-room schools. Nearly all of these schools are in 
the open country. They are the usual and commonplace response 
made in the United States to the problem of training country chil¬ 
dren. For 80 years or more educators have known and have pointed 
out that the little school, even at its best, is an ineffective instrument 
and ought to exist only where it is impracticable to provide anything 
better; but each State, as it established a public-school system, per¬ 
mitted and encouraged the little schools, and until very recently they 
have continued to increase in number. 

It has long been a matter of common opinion that the opportuni¬ 
ties for education offered to rural children, especially those living 
outside of the towns and villages, have been and are much inferior 
to those offered city children. The truth of that opinion is now 
fairly well proved. Recent surveys of several State school systems 
have shown that almost without exception the one and two teacher 
schools are the weakest in the systems, and usually as the number of 
pupils and teachers approached that necessary for a graded school 
the scores made in objective tests have indicated better results. 
Moreover, the small schools are very expensive, not only in failing to 
do their work well but in the actual amount of money spent for each 
pupil. 


l 




2 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


The State superintendents generally recognize in their reports 
that the small schools of the one and two room types located in the 
open country are the ones that need most to be strengthened and 
bettered. All the statistical data gathered by the State offices that 
are of such a nature as to permit making comparisons between rural 
and urban systems bear out the findings of the surveys. Indeed, the 
schools established by the National Government for the Indians, 
those maintained in the Philippines and Porto Rico, and the city 
schools for negroes have often, if pot usually, been much better than 
the rural schools for white children 

The -field for consolidation .—It is pertinent to indicate at once 
where the 187,951 one-room schools are. Each of the seven States 
shown in heavy vertical hatch on the accompanying map has more 
than 7,500 one-room schools. The exact figures are given in Table 
No. 1 on page 52. The total number of one-room schools in this group 
of States is 63,736, or more than one-third the total for the United 
t States. 

Each of the eight States shown in the heavy diagonal hatch has 
somewhere between 5,000 and 7,500 one-room schools. The total for 
the group is 49,418, or more than one-fourth the total for the United 
States. 

In these two groups, comprising 15 States, are more than three- 
fifths of all the one-room schools. Here is the field where the major 
part of the work of improving the small schools is to be done. In 
general, they are States where natural conditions make it possible 
to unite the little schools and establish larger ones. 

The 12 States shown in the cross hatch have a total of 50,296 one- 
room schools, or somewhere between 2,500 and 5,000 each. If the 
number is added to that of the first two groups, we have accounted 
for 87 per cent numerically of the problem presented by the small 
school. 

The 11 States of the fourth group shown in diagonal light hatch 
have from 1,000 to 2,500 one-room schools each, or a total of 19,714. 

Each of the 10 States in the fifth group, shown in white, has fewer 
than 1,000 one-room schools, or a total of 4,784. 

These data and the map have definite limitations in that they in¬ 
clude only the one-room schools. There are great numbers of two 
and three room schools and even larger ones that can be benefited by 
uniting with other schools. But data for these schools are not avail¬ 
able. The figures for the one-room schools are given as the only ones 
that can now be had for the entire United States and because these 
schools constitute by far the largest field for consolidation and the 
one where it is most needed. 

Nature of the 'problem ,.—This rural school problem is an Ameri¬ 
can problem, developed by the American people in the process of 


INTRODUCTION. 


3 


evolving a system of public education for a republic, and working 
out its solution is a matter of dealing witli Americans. In so far as 
it is complicated in some States by the necessity for maintaining 



separate schools for the two races—13.4 per cent of the rural popu¬ 
lation is negro—that also is a difficulty of American making. The 
small school was forced upon the United States by no foreign nation; 
it was required of no State by the National Government; in general 













4 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


it was not imposed upon local units by the State, and permissive 
laws have made it possible to have better schools as fast as a demand 
for them arose. To whatever extent the schools of this country are 
modeled after those of other countries, or the schools of any State 
are like those of other States, the imitation has been almost wholly 
voluntary, and the restrictions placed upon what the schools might 
be have been only those imposed by natural physical conditions and 
the human tendency to follow custom and an established line of 
thought. 

The foreign-born persons in the rural population amount to 6.5 
per cent. If the towns and villages could be excluded, it would 
probably be less. The people who make use of the small school, 
and among whom it persists, are predominantly of native birth and 
of native parentage, speaking the English language, accustomed to 
American thought and life, and presumably imbued with American 
ideals. It should be easier to bring about results in this field than 
it is in some of the urban projects where difficulties of language and 
of differing ideals must be overcome. 

There have been many attempts made to raise the level of rural 
education, most of them to some extent successful. They have taken 
and are now taking the form of educational surveys and campaigns; 
efforts to secure more funds and more equitable distribution of funds; 
special appropriations in State aid for weak schools; more cen¬ 
tralized, responsible, and professional administration and supervi¬ 
sion; more carefully gathered data to detect weaknesses and deter¬ 
mine their causes; laws intended to bring about longer terms, better 
attendance, better qualified teachers, and more adequate school build¬ 
ings; setting definite standards and recognizing in a special way the 
schools that attain those standards; and consolidating smaller schools 
or districts into larger and stronger educational units. 

The inherent weaknesses of the small school are in the difficulty 
of proper grading, the limited time that can be given each class or 
grade, the limited social experience, and the lack of incentive in the 
small groups. These weaknesses can be overcome only by removing 
the thing itself, by changing the small school to a larger one. 
Many educators believe that the first logical step in the solution of 
the rural school problem, just as it has been of the city school prob¬ 
lem, is consolidation wherever at all practicable, and that along this 
line the greatest success can be achieved. 

The scope of the study .—It is with school consolidation in general, 
but more particularly as it applies to rural schools, its different forms, 
the laws governing it, its history and development, the measure of 
its progress and success, and the things which commend it, that we 
have here to deal. 


Chapter I. 


THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF CONSOLIDATION 
AND TRANSPORTATION. 


The history of the growth of consolidation, of schools and trans¬ 
portation of pupils may be divided into four fairly well-defined 
periods: 

1. From about 1840 to 1880, a period in which the principle of 
centralization of schools was established in urban communities, ex¬ 
tended to other independent districts, and began in rural sections. 

2. From 1880 to 1894, a period of very slow extension of the con¬ 
solidation idea. 

3. From 1894 to 1910, a period of awakened interest in rural 
schools, a general rapid enactment and betterment of consolidation 
and transportation laws, and more extended use of them. 

4. From 1910 to 1922, a period of more united effort in bringing 
about consolidation, determining its value, and working out the best 
ways to make it most effective. 

THE PERIOD FROM 1840 TO 1880. 

Consolidation in cities and towns .—The movement to provide 
better educational advantages than are offered by the one-room 
school in which a small number of children are taught by some one 
untrained for the work began in New England. Out of it have come 
our present-day city school systems, independent and special dis¬ 
tricts of various kinds, district, union, township, and county high 
schools, union graded schools, rural and State graded schools, con¬ 
solidated and centralized schools, and other public schools based on 
the principle of grouping children of nearly equal attainments in 
grades—“graduating them,” it was called—and providing for an 
orderly progress from grade to grade or “ graduation to graduation.” 

Consolidation of schools was first effected in the cities and more 
densely populated towns, usually under special laws or acts of in¬ 
corporation. After two or three cities in a State had established 
graded schools and set up fairly strong systems under special 
enactments, the people of other cities and towns desired similar 
advantages and secured a general law giving cities, towns, villages, 

5 



6 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION" AND TRANSPORTATION. 


and often the richer and more populous agricultural sections privi¬ 
leges of various kinds in connection with establishing graded schools, 
levying taxes, employing superintendents, etc. In this way there has 
grown up in most of the States a considerable number of local school 
systems largely independent of State, county, town, or township 
control. For the most part they are the sections that have consoli¬ 
dated their schools, centralized the administration, and made good 
progress. They are the systems that educational tests in recent years 
have shown to be well up among the best in teaching personnel, 
quality of instruction, and results produced. In so far as they have 
done these things within their own boundaries, they have local con¬ 
solidation and centralization. In so far as they are independent of 
the State, county, township, or town systems in which they may be 
situated, they have decentralization, a breaking up of the larger 
unit of control. In one or two States the establishment of inde¬ 
pendent and special districts went so far that it threatened to dis¬ 
rupt the State system. 

Opposition to the independent district .—The idea of permitting 
the stronger, wealthier sections to make more rapid progress with 
their schools did not meet with favor in some cases. In Indiana and 
Pennsylvania definite attempts were made to keep all the schools 
at about the same level and to give none any great degree of inde¬ 
pendence. A supreme court decision in Indiana prohibited local 
school taxes from 1854 to 1867 on the ground that if such taxes were 
levied the school system would not be general and uniform. In the 
earlier years of the establishment of public schools in Pennsylvania 
the State laws were such as to discourage the formation of inde¬ 
pendent districts, and both the governor and the State superintendent 
officially and publicly opposed such procedure. 

The incorporation one school district in newer States. —The lesson 
of consolidation, so far as it applies to cities and towns, was learned 
soon enough so that a number of the States admitted in more recent 
years made such sections as the following a part ol their early 
school laws: 

Each village, town, or incorporated city in this State shall constitute but one 
school district, and the public schools therein shall be under the supervision and 
control of the trustees thereof. ( School Laws of the State of Nevada, 1867.) 

No incorporate city or town shall hereafter be divided into two or more 
school districts. ( School Law of the State of Colorado, 1886.) 

Uniting unincorporated and incorporated territory. —The school 
districts under laws of this kind became coterminous at least with 
the city, town, or village. Other enactments in many States per¬ 
mitted the district to extend beyond the city or town boundaries and 
to include or unite with contiguous unincorporated territory that 
could best be served by the schools of the corporation. This kind of 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 7 

uniting of unincorporated with incorporated territory has been one 
of the important phases of school consolidation. 

Consolidation through unions of districts or schools. —Coincident 
with or following shortly after the formation of city school systems 
came unions of districts or schools in order that a central school 
might be established for the older pupils. The history of the de¬ 
velopment of grades in the schools, the gradual extension of the grade 
system, and the growth of public secondary schools fairly closely 
parallels the development and adoption of the consolidation idea. 
The application of the principle of consolidation, i. e., bringing 
children together in larger groups for the purpose of having better 
and stronger schools, involves setting up graded schools that in most 
cases include the high school. 

By far the larger part of the earlier laws tending toward consoli¬ 
dation provided for unions of districts or schools, so that a central 
graded school of higher order might be established. Later the cen¬ 
tral graded school of higher order came to be known as a high school, 
and unions were formed for the purpose of establishing and main¬ 
taining a high school. 

Such union high-school laws are still on the statute books of most 
of the States. They provide for a form of partial consolidation in 
order to offer secondary instruction. The uniting districts or 
schools do not lose their own corporate identities. They played an 
important part in the development of secondary education and the 
consolidation idea. No great deal of use is now being made of them, 
except in California. Consolidation is being effected more through 
direct laws written for that purpose and under that name. 

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Indiana, New York, and 
Kansas in the years from 1838 to 1862 each enacted and made use of 
union school laws. The Wisconsin free high-school law of 1875 per¬ 
mitted unions of towns or districts, as well as single towns or dis¬ 
tricts, to establish and maintain high schools. It also provided for 
State aid to high schools, the first special aid given in Wisconsin. 

The California law of 1891 gave permission for any two or more 
adjoining districts to unite by election and form a union high-school 
district. Each uniting district maintains its own identity and con¬ 
ducts or may conduct its own elementary school. This form of par¬ 
tial consolidation for secondary school purposes is the one that has 
made most progress in the State. The union high-school law and 
that for joint union high-school districts—districts lying in two or 
more counties—has been kept and changed to advantage from time 
to time. 

The value of union school laws. —Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, 
Iowa, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, Maine, 
Delaware, Colorado, and South Dakota are among the other States 


8 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


that have used laws for union districts or union schools as a means 
of bringing about centralization and providing for secondary edu¬ 
cation. No separate study of the effect of these laws or of the work 
done in the schools established under them is here attempted. They 
have undoubtedly been of great value, but a stronger form of cen¬ 
tralization than can be effected by a union of districts that continue 
to maintain their own boards and their own. corporate identities is 
felt to be necessary, if all the advantages of centralization are to be 
obtained. Union high schools and unions for elementary school 
purposes are not commonly reported as consolidations, though they 
are unquestionably a kind of consolidation. 

The town or township unit in bringing about consolidation. —The 
adoption of the town or the township as the unit of local control has 
had much to do with school consolidation in at least nine of the 
States. In New England, centralization outside of the cities was 
not brought about so much by consolidating districts or by forming 
unions of them as by abolishing the districts and placing the schools 
under the control of the towns. One after another the New England 
States, first by permissive and later by compulsory legislation, did 
away with the district system, and by so doing decreased the number 
of school units from 13,214 to 1,616. 

Michigan by a series of special enactments, a law which applied to 
the upper peninsula, another applying to Gladwin County, and Act 
No. 176 of 1909 applicable to the whole State, gradually changed in 
the upper peninsula, and is still changing in the lower peninsula, 
from a district to a township unit of school administration. 

New Jersey by the Olcott law of 1895 made each city, borough, and 
incorporated town a school district and consolidated all of each town¬ 
ship outside the incorporations into one township school district. By 
so doing the number of districts in the State was reduced from 1,408 
to 374. 

Indiana adopted the township as the unit of local control in 
1852 and still retains it. 

The school code of Ohio enacted in 1853 made the township the 
unit of school administration; districts became subdistricts, and a 
township board of education made up of representatives of the sub¬ 
districts was given control of the schools. Under this form of or¬ 
ganization centralization began in the State in 1892, was given 
special legal authorization in 1894, general authorization in 1898, 
was strengthened by the Workman Law and the Boxwell Act of 
1900, and has made steady progress as a means of bettering the rural 
schools of Ohio. 

The township unit but little help in consolidation. —In other States 
attempts to make the township the unit of local school control or to 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


9 


change from the district to the township system were not so success¬ 
ful or had little effect in bringing about consolidation. Iowa, Ne¬ 
braska, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania have 
either tried to use or are partly or wholly using the township sys¬ 
tem in administering their schools, but in none of these States has it 
resulted in a great decrease in the number of small rural schools 
that are maintained. 

Wisconsin adopted a permissive township law in 1869. Little use 
was made of it and in 1911 it was repealed. In 1894 and 1896 the 
State superintendent of Minnesota urged that the township be 
adopted as the unit of control in that State, but without avail. A 
recent township unit law in New York was so unpopular that it was 
repealed in a short time. 

The township in secondary education. —Illinois early adopted and 
has kept a district system of schools much like the system that was 
discarded by Massachusetts. For elementary school purposes the 
township of Illinois has been a decentralizing agency. For 
secondary schools it has been the means through which the township 
and community high schools of the State have been developed to such 
a degree that the necessity for complete consolidation has to some 
extent been removed or at least not felt so keenly as in some other 
States. 

The township high school of Illinois is in effect a form of partial 
consolidation for purposes of offering secondary instruction. It is 
independent of the elementary school districts within the township 
and has a separate board of education, with power to levy a high- 
school tax. The history of these schools, the legislation affecting 
them, their growth, and their purpose have been well told in another 
bulletin and need not here be reviewed. 1 

The effect of limiting districts on consolidation. —One of the great 
factors in the decentralization of schools has been the extreme ease 
with which districts could be created, changed, and readjusted and 
schools established. “A schoolhouse within easy walking distance 
of every child ” was an almost general policy. In the pioneer days, 
when new areas were being developed for agriculture, a policy of 
that kind was probably wise. Several attempts to set up highly cen¬ 
tralized State systems of schools failed. Most of the early laws for 
the establishment of districts were couched in very general terms and 
gave the creating authority power to establish a school under almost 
any pretext. 

The tendency was to create more small schools than was necessary, 
and as the States became fairly well settled and means of travel and 

1 Hollister, Horace A. The Township and Community High School Movement in Illi¬ 
nois. Bu. of Educ. BuL, 1917, No. 35. 




10 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


communication were bettered, a certain amount of consolidation was 
brought about by various legal checks on the establishment of dis¬ 
tricts or schools. 

A fairly typical example is here given. In 1871 the following 
section was added to the law of New Jersey: 

And be it enacted, That no school districts shall hereafter be formed which 
shall contain less than 75 children, between 5 and 18 years of age, and that 
after the passage of this act each incorporated city or town shall constitute 
but one school district for all school purposes, and that such consolidated dis¬ 
trict shall hold all the property and be liable for all the lawful debts of the 
district so consolidated. 

Undoubtedly such laws as this did much good, but decreases in the 
number of small schools have been brought about more by a wider 
knowledge of the advantages of larger schools than by any legal 
prohibitions against small ones. 

Early laws typical of present-day consolidation laws. —The stat¬ 
utes of Maine for 1854 contained three sections almost typical of 
present consolidation laws. Two or more districts could unite to 
constitute one district whenever a majority of the legal voters pres¬ 
ent and voting at a meeting in each district legally called for the 
purpose should so determine. After the districts had united, the 
town had no power to alter or divide the united district without the 
consent of a majority of the voters of the district. 

In 1861 a consolidation law was enacted in Delaware. It gave 
two or more school districts authority to unite for the purpose of 
establishing a free school for their common benefit. A two-tliirds 
vote in favor of the union was necessary in each district affected, but 
an adverse vote in any one district did not defeat the union of other 
districts voting for it. The districts when united became one dis¬ 
trict, known as “ United School District No. - in - 

County.” In making the apportionment of State school money, each 
district was given the amount it would have received had there been 
no union, and the sum of those amounts was then placed to the credit 
of the school committee of the united district. This law, practi¬ 
cally unchanged, was in effect until 1915, when it was repealed, and 
a very detailed law of 26 sections providing for altering districts was 
enacted in its place. 

Early attempts at transportation. —In 1869 towns of Massachu¬ 
setts were given authority to raise and appropriate money to provide 
for conveying pupils to and from schools. The town of Green¬ 
field united three small schools that year and began conveying pupils. 
In 1875 the town of Montague closed a number of district schools 
and conveyed pupils to a central school. Concord began in 1879 to 
close its district schools, 12 in number, and by constant effort 
brought about complete consolidation in eight years. 



HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF^IT. 


11 


In 1876 the statutes of Vermont gave the prudential committee 
of any district power to arrange for the instruction of the pupils in 
an adjoining district or districts and to provide their transportation 
to and from the school. 

In Maine a committee consisting of the municipal officers and the 
school committee or supervisor was given authority by enactment 
of 1880 to close the school in any district in which the number of 
pupils was considered too few and to expend the money in an adjoin¬ 
ing district, using not more than half of it for the conveyance of 
scholars to and from school. 

Summary of consolidation and transportation in 1880. —By the 
close of the year 1880 the principle of centralization as applied to 
urban schools was rather generally accepted and was being adopted 
throughout the United States. Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, 
Vermont, and New Hampshire were well along in the process of 
changing from the district to the township system and had estab¬ 
lished some consolidated schools that were serving rural sections. 
Indiana had adopted the township as the unit of local school con¬ 
trol, and rural school consolidation had begun in the State. Mas¬ 
sachusetts, Vermont, and Maine had given legal sanction for the use 
of public money in transporting children to and from school. 

Wisconsin had begun giving State aid to encourage rural graded 
and high schools. The township higli-school movement of Illinois 
was well under way. 

Georgia, Maryland, Louisiana, and Mississippi had made the 
county the unit of school control and in so doing had paved the 
way for some consolidation that came later. 

All of the country now occupied by the 10 States—North Dakota, 
South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Utah, Ari¬ 
zona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma—was still under Territorial gov¬ 
ernment. Consolidation ^and centralization of schools, the unions 
for the establishment of central graded schools and high schools, 
and transportation of pupils had made good beginnings in some of 
the older States, but they were only beginnings. The independent 
small local unit of school control was the usual one. It was dis¬ 
appearing in urban communities but was increasing in rural sections 
and was extending as rapidly as new areas were being developed 
and settled. 

THE PERIOD FROM 1880 TO 1894. 

During the 14 years from 1880 to 1894 consolidation went slowly. 

Growth, of the town system. —In New England, Michigan, and the 
Dakotas some results of the 40 years of opposition to the district 
system became manifest. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, 
and Maine passed laws abolishing the district as the unit of control. 


12 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Rhode Island enacted a permissive law by which any town could 
dissolve the districts and take over the administration of the schools. 
An attempt was made in Connecticut to compel the adoption of the 
town unit, but it failed. The township unit acts of Michigan have 
already been noted. Under its Territorial law of 1883 part of Da¬ 
kota had a township organization and part a district organization. 
At the time of the admission of North Dakota and South Dakota 
the controversy between the advocates of township control and those 
of district control was more or less compromised by effecting a kind 
of dual system in both States. 

School laws of new States. —The six States that entered the Union 
during this period—North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyo¬ 
ming, Idaho, and Washington—each established school systems in 
which the county was divided into districts, in general made each city 
and incorporated town a single school district, set minimum limita¬ 
tions for the creation or continuance of districts, arranged for high 
schools, and provided legal ways of uniting districts. They did not, 
however, enter upon planned programs for the betterment of schools 
by consolidation. 

Consolidation Ioajos in New Jersey , Nebraska , Florida , and Texas .— 
New Jersey, in 1886, and Nebraska, in 1889, enacted laws permitting 
consolidation of school districts if the districts affected initiated a 
request for it. The Legislature of Florida in 1889 abolished the dis¬ 
tricts and gave the county board of public instruction power to locate 
and maintain schools in the county, a power that included consoli¬ 
dating schools. In 1893, all but 27 counties of Texas changed from 
an old community system of schools to a district system, and districts 
were permitted to consolidate. 

No immediate or extended use of these laws was made in further¬ 
ing consolidation in any of these four States. 

Central graded schools and unions of districts. —Laws providing 
for the establishment of central graded schools or graded common 
schools—in both cases designed to promote high schools—were en¬ 
acted or amended in Missouri, Michigan, and North Dakota, and 
such schools began forming rapidly. District and township graded 
schools increased steadily in number in Indiana. Central graded 
schools formed under the statute of 1862 were slowly being estab¬ 
lished in Kansas. The union high-school law of California was 
passed in 1891. Extended and immediate use was made of it. 

The amount of State aid to high schools given in Wisconsin was 
increased in order to promote rural high schools, but it failed of its 
purpose. Minnesota began a policy of encouraging special types of 
schools and kinds of education with direct State aid in 1882 by giv¬ 
ing special appropriations to 38 high schools. The policy has been 


BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 2 



A. A consolidated school in Colorado, established by consolidating districts. 



B. A township consolidated grade and high school in Indiana. 
TYPES OF LARGE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 























BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 3 



A. San Jon consolidated school, New Mexico. 



B. Grammar school, Calexico, Calif. 


C. Strasburg school, Colorado. 

TYPES OF SMALL CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 



















BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 4 





TYPES OF UNION HIGH SCHOOLS. 
















































BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 5 



A. A principal's cottage. 



B. A cottage for eight teachers in Louisiana. 



C. A teachers’ home in Alabama. 

TYPES OF PUBLICLY OWNED TEACHERS' HOMES. 






















HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


13 


continued and extended until in 1920 six different types of schools, 
numbering 7,289 in all, received special grants to the amount of 
$2,933,822. 

Transportation .—During this period Massachusetts in 1889 and 
Vermont in 1893 began reporting as separate items the amounts spent 
for transportation. The general law of New Hampshire in 1885 con¬ 
tained a clause allowing special districts to spend not exceeding 10 
per cent of the moneys for public school purposes in conveying pupils 
living more than a mile and a half from school. In that year trans¬ 
portation without regard to the distance the child lived from the 
school was made permissible in all towns of the State, and the limit 
of expenditure was raised to 25 per cent. Transportation to other 
schools for children of discontinued schools was begun in Connecticut 
in 1893. Acting under their general authority to provide schools, 
township trustees in some localities of Indiana began furnishing 
transportation without specific legal authorization in 1888 or pos¬ 
sibly earlier. Transportation in connection with the first rural cen¬ 
tralization was begun in Ohio in 1893. 

The Massachusetts report .—In 1893, in Massachusetts, 135 towns 
replied to a circular letter of inquiry sent out by Superintendent 
Eaton, of Concord. One hundred and twenty of those cities and 
towns reported having closed 250 of 632 outlying schools in the 12 
years previous and that they were conveying nearly 2,000 pupils to 
near-by district or village schools. 

This was one of the first, if not the first, of the special official in¬ 
vestigations of and reports on consolidation and transportation. Ap¬ 
proximately 100 official and semiofficial bulletins on the subject have 
now been published. They contain much valuable historical and 
statistical data. Taken together they form a very good small work¬ 
ing library on consolidation. 2 

THE PERIOD FROM 1894 TO 1910. 

About 1894 a much more active interest began to be taken in con¬ 
solidation and transportation as means of improving schools, espe¬ 
cially in rural communities. This interest reached its maximum in 
the years 1901 and 1903 and continued with but little abatement 
throughout the period. 

National interest .—In his report for 1894-95 the United States 
Commissioner of Education embodied two chapters, one dealing 
with The Social Unit in the Public School Systems of the United 
States and the other with The Conveyance of Children to School. 
Of the first he wrote: “ The rapidly growing tendency to modify the 

2 Abel, J. F. An Annotated List of Official Publications on Consolidation of Schools 
and Transportation of Pupils. U. S. Bu. of Educ., Rural Sch. Leaflet No. 9. 

52571°—23-2 




14 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


character of the local school community makes of interest a study 
of the features of the school district as it appears in the several 
States.” The chapter on conveyance was taken up almost wholly 
with what was then being done in New England. The succeeding 
four reports of the Commissioner of Education contained informa¬ 
tion on consolidation and transportation. Both were beginning to be 
of nation-wide interest. 

In 1895 the educational council of the National Education Asso¬ 
ciation appointed a committee of 12 to investigate conditions in rural 
schools and devise ways and means for their improvement. The re¬ 
port was submitted in 1897. A summary of the recommendations 
considered by the committee to be of most importance contained the 
following: 

For purposes of organization, maintenance, or supervision nothing should 
be recognized as the unit smaller than the township or the county; the school 
district is the most undesirable unit possible. 

One of the great hindrances to the improvement of the rural school lies in its 
isolation and its inability to furnish to the pupil that stimulative influence 
which comes from contact with others of his own age and advancement. The 
committee therefore recommends collecting pupils from small schools into larger 
and paying from the public funds for their transportation, believing that in 
this way better teachers can be provided, more rational methods of instruction 
adopted, and at the same time the expense of the schools can be materially 
lessened. 

Early rural consolidation in the Middle States. —At about the same 
time that these reports indicative of a wider national interest were 
issued a number of advances were made in the movement for con¬ 
solidation, especially in the Central States. In Ohio and Kansas the 
first rural consolidations were established and legalized by special 
enactments. A few years later both States passed general laws on 
the subject. In Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska old laws, more or less 
unused and disregarded, were applied in a new way to rural schools 
and rural consolidation was begun. State Supts. Henry Sabin, of 
Iowa, and John R. Kirk, of Missouri, carried on their active cam¬ 
paigns for rural school betterment. Superintendent Kirk’s efforts 
bore fruit in the enactment of several good school laws, among them 
provision for central high schools and consolidated districts. In 
Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota, Indiana, and Oklahoma, con¬ 
solidation laws were enacted or bettered and rural consolidation 
began making definite advances. 

Early rural consolidation in the Southern States. —In the later 
years of this period, especially from 1900 to 1910, consolidation began 
to develop in the Southern States. The county unit systems of North 
Carolina and Florida had brought about, by 1902, some decreases in 
the number of small schools in both States, especially the former. 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


15 


and in both the State superintendents were urging consolidation. 
The South Carolina Code of 1896 created county boards of educa¬ 
tion and gave to them the right to consolidate schools. In the 
years 1902-1904 Louisiana, Virginia, and Maryland passed laws 
favoring consolidation, and Tennessee, by taking away from county 
courts the power to create school districts and requiring that small 
schools be abolished, closed about 1,000 litttle schools. In the Texas 
School Code of 1905 the laws affecting consolidation were strength¬ 
ened and made wider in scope. When Kentucky changed from the 
district to the county system in 1908 county boards were given power 
to consolidate any two or more contiguous subdistricts. The first 
consolidation law of Mississippi that included transportation was 
enacted in 1910. 

Early consolidation in the Western States. —The influences that 
were bringing about consolidation in the Central and Southern States 
were also being felt in the Western. During this period from 1894 
to 1910 all of the Western States and Territories, with the exceptions 
of Nevada and Wyoming, took some steps toward furthering con¬ 
solidation. These States were at that time all organized on the dis¬ 
trict system, but the school districts were and are yet much larger 
for the most part than districts in New England and the Middle and 
Southern States. A western school district often included several 
townships and possibly large unsurveyed areas of land. The laws 
generally permitted county boards of commissioners—these are civil 
not educational boards—to establish or consolidate school districts 
upon petition from the residents of the areas affected. Consolida¬ 
tion was begun in Montana, Washington, Idaho, California, Oregon, 
Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, in the last-named State as the 
result of a definite campaign for the improvement of rural schools. 
Utah took the first steps toward what later became a strongly cen¬ 
tralized county system of schools. In Washington and Idaho some 
large areas that were being rapidly settled organized on the con¬ 
solidation plan and established central schools with transportation 
without going through the usual preliminary process of decentraliza¬ 
tion. Just as the consolidation principle as applied to urban schools 
had overtaken and supplanted the principle of decentralization, it 
had now overtaken the decentralization principle as applied to rural 
schools. 

Early rural consolidation in New York , Pennsylvania , and West 
Virginia. —These three States, in some respects similar in physical 
features, all made more specific their laws on consolidation, and the 
first of the consolidated schools in the latter two States were estab¬ 
lished. New York gave school commissioners direct power to con¬ 
solidate districts and permitted payment for transportation when 


16 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


one district contracted with another for the education of its children. 
Centralization was legally defined in Pennsylvania. Transportation 
was authorized, and the first rural consolidation was effected. The 
first consolidated school in West Virginia for whites was established 
in Marion County, and a similar school for negroes in McDowell 
County. 

Growth of the town system. —The town or township unit system 
and consolidation made distinct gains in New Jersey, Michigan, Con¬ 
necticut, and Rhode Island. 

The greatest step in the reduction of units in administration in 
New Jersey was taken in 1895, in what is known as the Olcott school 
law. (See page 8.) The main provisions of the Olcott law are still 
retained. In 1909 a mandatory law was enacted in Connecticut re¬ 
quiring all towns except those which had a city or borough or district 
organized by special acts of the legislature within their limits to as¬ 
sume and maintain control of all their public schools. On January 
1, 1904, the school committee of each town in Rhode Island took con¬ 
trol of the schools, and school districts were abandoned in that State, 
the last of the New England States to give up the district system. 

The extension of school transportation in the period 189If, to 1910 .— 
In the period from 1894 to 1910 laws were enacted in 25 States pro¬ 
viding for the use of public funds for transportation of pupils, and 
12 States began reporting the amount spent for transportation as a 
separate item of school expenditure. 

Transportation in lieu of a local school. —The duty to provide 
school facilities has not generally implied the duty to provide trans¬ 
portation to and from school, and school officials have no power to 
arrange for transportation in the absence of a law permitting or 
directing it. In this connection it is significant that most of these 
early transportation laws indicate by their nature something of a 
trade or exchange. The district, subdistrict, school, or community 
gave up its little school, often for the sake of economy, and in return 
received transportation for the children to and from some other 
school. Usually these laws allowing transportation only in cases of 
closed schools were followed in a short time by laws permitting it 
in any schools of the State. New York, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, 
Wisconsin, Ohio, Rhode Island, Montana, Missouri, and South 
Dakota all provided for transportation of the children belonging to 
discontinued schools or schools that voluntarily closed and con¬ 
tracted to send the children to the schools of other districts. 

Transportation as a part of consolidation. —In other States the 
first transportation laws were enacted at the same time as the con¬ 
solidation laws or were a part of them. That of Mississippi has been 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


17 


noted. North Dakota, California, Minnesota, Washington, Mary¬ 
land, Oklahoma, Virginia, West Virginia, and Colorado made pro¬ 
vision for transportation a part of their consolidation laws. 

Permissive transportation under general terms. —Transportation 
of pupils at public expense was specifically legalized in Indiana in 
1899, after it had been carried on for 11 years or more. (See page 
13.) The list of purposes for which public school funds might be 
expended, as enumerated in the laws of Texas in 1905, closed with 
the clause, “ other purposes necessary in the conduct of the public 
schools to be determined by the board of trustees.” This clause was 
held by the State department of education to permit* expenditures 
for transportation. The statutes of Utah that same year gave the 
county board of education power to do all things needful for the 
success of the schools. This is interpreted to include furnishing 
transportation. New Jersey, Iowa, Michigan, and Kansas gave 
specific authorization for transportation of children, but left the de¬ 
termination of when it should be provided largely in the hands of the 
local school authorities. 

Summary of consolidation and transportation in 1910 .—By the 
year 1910 the principle of school consolidation was well established 
as a sound educational policy for rural as well as urban schools. 
From New England it had spread over the United States until Ala¬ 
bama, Arkansas, Georgia, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and South 
Dakota were the only States in which little or no effort had been 
made along the line of establishing consolidated schools for country 
children. 

The urban type of centralized control was being extended too 
widely, and large numbers of independent or special districts had 
been created in many of the States, districts that were not strong 
enough financially to maintain the fine type of school for which their 
creation was presumably intended. 

The tendency to establish small schools and weak districts had 
lessened to a considerable extent. Laws setting definite minimum 
limits on the number, size, or resident pupil strength of schools or 
districts were on the statute books of most of the States. 

The town or township as the unit of local school administration 
was compulsory throughout New England and New Jersey except 
for special districts, and these were gradually uniting again with the 
towns from which they had withdrawn. Under optional township 
unit laws township districts were forming steadily in Michigan, 
slowly or not at all in Wisconsin. The township unit as a means of 
furthering consolidation was proving effective in Indiana and Ohio 
and to some extent in North Dakota, where only five counties re¬ 
tained the district system. 


18 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION - AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Bather strongly centralized county .control of the schools had been 
brought about in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Mary¬ 
land, and North Carolina. In four counties of Georgia the schools 
were administered under a county-unit plan. County boards of edu¬ 
cation had been provided for in Tennessee in 1907 and Kentucky in 
1908. 

In 1905 the Legislature of Utah had given permission for any 
county in the State having a school population of more than 3,000 
to consolidate its schools into a single unit of control, or under cer¬ 
tain conditions into two such units. By the close of the year 1910 
six counties were operating their schools under that law, and five 
cities were under a somewhat similar system. 

Thirty-four of the States had enacted laws permitting under 
restrictions that varied widely in the different States the use of public 
funds in paying for the transportation of children to and from 
school. Fourteen States were reporting amounts spent for trans¬ 
portation as a separate item of school expenditure. The names of 
those States and the amounts reported for 1910 are listed below: 


Massachusetts_$310,442 

Vermont_ 92, 019 

Maine_ 114, 795 

Connecticut_ 72, 077 

Florida_ 24,133 

New Jersey_ 145, 737 

Indiana_ 155, 390 


Minnesota_$63,253 

Maryland_ 5, 210 

New Hampshire_ 57,993 

North Dakota_104,150 

(Virginia_ 46,908 

Iowa_25,434 

Louisiana_ 54, 000 


Only five States were reporting the number of children transported. 

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Ver¬ 
mont were giving State aid in payment of the tuition of nonresident 
high-school pupils, and by that means were to some extent helping to 
centralize secondary education. State reimbursement for graded- 
school tuition had been begun in Delaware in 1899. 

North Dakota had begun State aid to high schools as a part of its 
consolidation policy in 1898. That same year Bliode Island had 
established its policy of paying an annual bonus to central graded 
schools. State aid to high schools and to State graded schools for 
the purpose of promoting both in rural sections was in effect in 
Wisconsin. Minnesota was giving special aid to high schools. State 
aid to weak schools in Missouri was so conditioned as to further the 
creation of larger districts, and the apportionment laws of Wash¬ 
ington set a premium on consolidation and the formation of union 
high schools. In Connecticut and Vermont State aid was being given 
for transportation. 

Consolidation and transportation had become so much a matter 
of importance that in 1910 a group of educators composed of the State 

















HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


19 


superintendents of Texas, Georgia, Arkansas, Virginia, Alabama, 
Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Mississippi, and West Vir¬ 
ginia ; State supervisors from Louisiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, 
and Virginia; and representatives of the Southern Education 
Board and the United States Department of Agriculture made a 
study tour into Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and Maryland. They visited 
scores of consolidated schools and inquired carefully into the details 
of their management and efficiency. Most of these officials after 
returning to their own States recommended consolidation for their 
own schools. 

THE PERIOD FROM 1910 TO 1922. 

Territorial extension of consolidation .—Territorial extension by 
States of the principles of school consolidation and transportation 
of pupils at public expense was completed for continental United 
States in the decade 1910 to 1920. By 1915, sixty-two years after the 
first union-school law of New York was enacted, the last seven States 
to enter upon policies of consolidation had begun it. In 1919, fifty 
years after transportation was begun in Massachusetts, Delaware, 
the last of the States to do so, passed a law authorizing transportation 
and started to put it in practice. 

Of the seven States that had done almost no work in rural con¬ 
solidation by 1910 the most active steps were taken in South Dakota. 
The first consolidation law of the State was enacted in 1913, avowedly 
for the purpose of “ promoting a better condition in rural schools 
and to encourage industrial training, including the elements of agri¬ 
culture, manual training, and home economics.” At the same time 
the transportation laws, not necessarily applying to consolidated 
schools, were amended and bettered. In the next three years 24 con¬ 
solidated districts were formed. The Montana school code of 1913 
provided for two methods of consolidation. 

Mobile County began consolidation in Alabama in 1910. Little 
was done in the State, however, until after 1915, and even then it 
made very slow progress until almost the last year of the decade. 
Arkansas and Georgia enacted consolidation laws in 1911, and the 
movement to close small rural schools has progressed slowly in those 
States since that year. 

Natural conditions in Nevada and Wyoming delayed the begin¬ 
nings of consolidation in those two States. In the latter a district 
boundary board consisting of the county superintendent and the 
board of county commicsioners was created in 1913 and given power 
to lay off the county into convenient school districts and to alter and 
change such districts from time to time, when petitioned by a ma- 


20 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


jority of the legal voters of all the districts affected, both organized 
and proposed. In the former a detailed law providing for consolida¬ 
tion and transportation of pupils was enacted in 1915. 

Territorial extension of transportation. —In the 10 years the 13 
States that had up to that time given no legal authorization of any 
kind for transportation passed specific laws for it or laws that could 
be interpreted as permitting it. In Texas and Louisiana where it 
had been carried on as a part of the powers of trustees and parish 
boards, it was given definite legal mention. In Alabama, Arkansas, 
Georgia, and Nevada transportation was provided for in the con¬ 
solidation laws noted in the preceding section. North Carolina, 
Illinois, South Carolina, Idaho, Tennessee, New Mexico, and Dela¬ 
ware gave legal recognition in some way to the principle of using 
public funds to provide transportation for children to and from 
school. 

Reports of expenditures for transportation. —By 1910, fourteen 
States were reporting amounts spent for transportation as a sepa¬ 
rate item of school expenditure (see p. 18). In the next decade the 
following listed States, given in chronological order, recognized trans¬ 
portation as being of enough importance to be reported separately 
and specifically in amount: 

1911— Georgia and Mississippi. 

1912— Illinois and Wisconsin. 

1913— New York, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. 

1914— Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, and South Carolina. 

1915— Ohio and Tennessee. 

1916— Utah. 

1917— Texas. 

1918— California, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and Alabama. 

1920—Delaware, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Oregon. 

Chronological summary of first consolidation and transportation 
laws. —For convenience of reference and as a summary of the terri¬ 
torial extension of consolidation and transportation, two tables are 
given here. The first one lists in chronological order the first con¬ 
solidated schools or laws for consolidation in each State, with a brief 
explanation of the character of the law, and, when known, the loca¬ 
tion and date of the first school. The second table gives the date of 
enactment of the first transportation laws in each State. A com¬ 
parison of the two tables shows that in the earlier history of these 
movements, transportation lagged from 30 to 40 years behind consoli¬ 
dation, while more recently the two have been legalized simulta¬ 
neously or transportation has even come first. 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT, 


21 


Date of first consolidation laws and schools in the States. 


Date of first 
consolidation 
laws or school. 

State. 

1838. 

Massachusetts 

1839. 

Connecticut..... 

1843. 

Michigan... 

1844. 

Vermont. 

1847. 

Ohio. 

1853. 

New York.... 

1854. 

Maine. 

1856. 

Wisconsin... 

1857. 

New Hampshire 

1861. 

Delaware. 

1873. 

Iowa. 

1873 . 

Indiana. 

1885. 

North Carolina_ 

1886. 

New Jersey. 

1889. 

Florida...!. 

1889 . 

Nebraska. 

1890. 

Washington... 

1893. 

Texas. 

1896. 

Utah. 

1896. 

South Carolina. 

1897. 

Kansas. 

1898. 

Rhode Island. 

1899. 

North Dakota. 

1900. 

Idaho. 

1901. 

California. 

1901. 

Missouri. 

1901. . 

Minnesota. 

1901. 

Pennsylvania. 

1902. 

Louisiana. 

"^1903. 

Virginia. 

1903.. 

Tennessee. 

1903 

Oregon. 

1903. 

Oklahoma. 

1904. 

Maryland. 




Explanation. 


Date and location of first 
consolidation. 


A union school law. 

.do. 

Union schools created by “form¬ 
ing a single district out of any 
two or more districts.” 


Greenfield, 1869; 

gue, 1875. 
Farmington, 1839. 
Fayette Union 
1844. 


Monta- 


School, 


Act No. 55 permitted two or more 
contiguous districts to form a 
union district. 


The Akron plan; a special law ex¬ 
tended and made more general 
in 1849. 

A union free school law.. 

A typical consolidation law. 

A central high school law. 

A union district law. 


The united school district law_ 

Independent township district 
law. The Akron plan was 
adopted in 1857. 

Township trustees authorized to 
establish graded schools. 

County boards of education 
created with power to divide 
counties into districts. 

A consolidation law.. 

The district and trustee system 
abolished and the county unit 
established. 

A consolidation law.. 

A union district law in the first 
State code, reenacted in 1897, 
and amended in 1901. 

A consolidation law. 

Embodied in the laws enacted by 
the first State legislature. 

Giving county boards of education 
power to divide the counties 
into school districts. 

A special law for Green Garden 
Township,followed byageneral 
law in 1901. 

Provided for three methods of 
consolidation. 

A consolidation law. 

_do. 


Provides for the consolidation of 
elementary school districts. 
The union high school law was 
enacted in 1891. 

A consolidation law. A central 
graded school law was passed in 
1885. 


Akron, 1846. 


New Castle is reported as 
having consolidated its 
schools in 1849. 

Buffalo Center Township, 
1895, Winnebago 
County. 

Washington Township, 
Rush County, 1876. 


In Holt County, 1893. 
Wind River in' Skamania 
County and Sunnyside 
in Yakima County, 1902. 


Green Garden Township 
Ellsworth County, 1896. 


Traill, Caledonia County, 
1901. 

Joint consolidation at Ca- 
taldo; district No. 33 at 
Jerome. 

There were 36 union high 
schools in 1892. 


Rtiskin High School at 
Hickman Mills. High 
schools at La Monte and 
Bettis. 


Providing for the formation of an 
independent district by uniting 
two or more districts. 

“Centralization” defined. 

Parish boards given power to de¬ 
termine the number and location 
of schools in the parishes. 

A consolidation law. 

Took away from county courts the 
power to create school districts. 

A consolidation law. 

State admitted 1907. The first 
State code provided for consoli¬ 
dation. 

Giving county boards authority to 
consolidate schools. 


North Shenango in Craw¬ 
ford County, 1903. 

Scott. 1902. 


Newburg. 
Quay, 1903. 





































































































22 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION - AND TRANSPORTATION 


Date of first consolidation laws and schools in the States —Continued. 


Date of first 
consolidation 
laws or school. 

State. 

Explanation. 

Date and location of first 
consolidation. 

1905. 

Illinois. 

In 1909, three ways were provided 
by which districts or parts of dis¬ 
tricts could unite. 

The township high school law en¬ 
acted in 1867 (special for Prince¬ 
ton) made general, 1872. 

A consolidation law. Union high 

Seward, in Winnebago 
County, 1905. 

Princeton, 1866. 

1907. 

Arizona. 

1907. 

New Mexico. 

schools provided for in 1901. 

A consolidation law. 


1908.. 

Kentucky. 

Gave county boards power to con¬ 
solidate subdistricts. 

A consolidation law. 

Mays Lick, 1913. 

Seven Pines, in Marion 

1908 

West Virginia_ 

1909. 

Colorado. 

Defines and legalizes consolidation. 

County boards given authority to 
consolidate schools, 1915. 

A consolidation law including 
transportation. 

A consolidation law. 

Coimty; Keystone, in 
McDowell County. 
Fountain, El Paso County, 
1903. 

In Mobile Coimty, 1910. 

1910. 

Alabama. 

1910. 

Mississippi. 

1911 

Arkansas. 

Thirteen small consoli- 

1911. 

Georgia. 

Gave county boards authority to 
consolidate schools. 

Two methods of consolidation pro¬ 
vided. 

A consolidation law, and making 
consolidated districts indepen¬ 
dent districts. 

District boundary boards created. 

A consolidation law was enacted 

dated schools are reported 
in 1910. 

1913. 

Montana. 

Victor, 1908. 

1913. 

South Dakota. 

Seven districts had organ¬ 
ized as consolidations by 
1914. 

1913. 

Wyoming. 

1913. 

Nevada. 

Metropolis,in ElkoCounty, 
1913. 



in 1915. 


Date of first transportation lows. 


Year. 

State. 

Year. 

State. 

Year. 

State. 

1869. 

Massachusetts. 

Vermont. 

Maine. 

New Hampshire. 

Florida. 2 

Connecticut. 

Ohio. 

New Jersey. 

New York. 

Iowa. 

Nebraska. 

Illinois. 

Wisconsin. 

Rhode Island. 
Kansas. 

North Dakota. 

1899. 

South Dakota. 
Indiana. 1 

California. 

Minnesota. 

Washington. 

Michigan. 

\ Montana. 

[Oregon, 
dVirginia. 

Maryland. 

Oklahoma. 

Utah. 2 

Missouri. 

West Virginia. 

Colorado. 

Mississippi. 

1911. 

Arkansas. 

Georgia. 

Illinois. 

North Carolina. 
Kentucky. 

South Carolina. 
Arizona. 

Idaho. 

Tennessee. 

Nevada. 

Alabama. 3 

Texas. 4 

Louisiana. 5 

New Mexico. 6 

Delaware. 

Wyoming. 7 

1876. 

1899. 

1911. 

1880. 

1901. 

1911. 

1885. 

1901. 

1911. 

1889 . 

1901. 

1912. 

1893. 

1903. 

1912. 

1894. 

1903... 

1912... 

1895. 

1903. 

1913. 

1896. 

' 1903. 

1913. 

1897. 

1904. 

1915... 

1897. 

1905. 

1915... 

1897. 

1905. 

1915... 

1897. 

1907. 

1916... 

1898. 

1908. 

1917... 

1899. 

1909. 

1919. 

1899. 

1910. 

1919... 





1 Transportation was carried on in Indiana as early as 1888 under general powers of township trustees. 

2 Assumed under powers of county boards. 

3 Transportation was carried on in Mobile County earlier than 1915. 

4 Transportation was carried on before 1915 under general powers granted boards in 1905. 

6 Dates to 1902 without specific legal authorization. 

6 Assumed in powers of county boards. 

7 Carried on under a broad interpretation of the law. 


EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS HELPING TO STRENGTHEN CONSOLIDATION. 

The State-wide survey .—While the movement for consolidation 
and transportation was reaching out into the last of the States, some 
other developments in education were helping to strengthen it 
throughout the Nation. One of these was the state-wide educational 




































































































HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


23 


survey. Such surveys for the purpose of determining the condition 
of the schools and offering constructive policies for their betterment 
were made in Ohio, Vermont, Washington, and Texas in 1914; Mary¬ 
land and Wyoming in 1916; Illinois and Colorado in 1917; Arizona 
and South Dakota in 1918; Alabama, Delaware, and Massachusetts 
in 1919; Virginia, North Carolina, and Hawaii in 1920; Kentucky 
and Arkansas in 1921; and New York, Oklahoma, and Indiana in 
1922. The reports of the surveys were given wide publicity, were 
studied with interest by educators and laymen, and were generally 
accepted as correct statements of facts and unbiased opinions given 
solely for the good of public education. 

Without exception it was pointed out in the surveys that the one- 
room and one-teaclier schools were the most ineffective in the United 
States. Until the time of the Virginia survey of 1919-20 the sur¬ 
veyors, except those that did the work in Ohio, based their findings 
in regard to the small schools on close personal observation of the 
schoolroom teaching, the length of the school term, the training and 
experience of the teachers, and the kinds of school buildings. In the 
Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, New York, 
Oklahoma, and Indiana surveys the results of instruction were much 
more carefully determined by using standardized educational tests 
and measurements. The data obtained by these more accurate, ob¬ 
jective methods of evaluation merely confirmed the opinion so com¬ 
monly expressed. The little schools were found to be the weakest in 
every respect. This is certainly a most convincing argument for 
larger schools. 

Moreover, in 16 of the 20 States that were surveyed, the surveyors 
outlined a plan for and recommended—or commended where it was 
already established in good form—the county as the unit of school 
administration and consolidation of schools, with transportation of 
pupils wherever practicable. 

In Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York the county is of com¬ 
paratively little importance in the political organization and can 
not well be made a unit of school control, but it was definitely indi¬ 
cated that there should be a breaking away from the town system in 
the former two States and the district system in the latter. 

The commission for Massachusetts wrote: 

After the abolition of the district system, Massachusetts clung with strange 
pertinacity to the next stage in the evolution—the township system, in which 
the town is responsible for the financing and control of the schools. * * * 

Nothing can be more dangerous to the well-being of the State than adherence 
to the old idea of local responsibility for the support of education. 

It was suggested for Vermont that, in establishing central rural 
schools, town lines give way to the requirements of topography. The 


24 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


committee for New York recommends the community as the unit of 
local control. 

Extension of the county unit flan .—Not only was the strong 
county unit plan generally advocated by educators, but it made dis¬ 
tinct gains in law and practice for both administrative and super¬ 
visory purposes. 

The beneficial results of consolidation were so apparent in Utah 
that by 1910 the entire State became interested in the movement. In 
1911 a law was passed providing for State aid to high schools and 
permitting the organization of each of the counties not yet con¬ 
solidated into a high school unit for high-school purposes. This law 
since its enactment has caused to be distributed an average per capita 
of $12 per annum for attendance in high school during at least 20 
consecutive weeks. It has provided a remarkable stimulus to the 
organization of high schools. Furthermore, it helped to swell the 
growing sentiment favorable to consolidation until early in 1915 the 
legislature found it possible to enact a law requiring the remaining 
counties of the State to consolidate their schools. The final result 
was the organization of 35 consolidated rural school units out of 
the 29 counties in the State, which, together with the 5 cities already 
established, constituted a total of 40 consolidated school systems. 

The rural school code of Ohio based on the findings of the survey 
commission created, for purposes of supervision, a county district 
under the control of a county board of education. 

County boards of education to have charge of all school property 
in the county and control of the schools, except those in 8 incor¬ 
porated cities and 36 incorporated towns, were provided for in New 
Mexico in 1917. 

A law was enacted in Montana in 1919 providing for a union by 
election in any county of all third-class districts and parts of first 
and second class districts not contiguous to the main body of such 
districts into one “ rural school district ” for purposes of taxation 
and bond issues, the rural district to be divided into subdistricts for 
local management, control, and custody of property. For the pur¬ 
poses to which it is limited, the rural district of Montana is in effect 
a county-wide plan. 

Arkansas began the decade with county superintendents in only 
eight counties. County boards of education and county superintend¬ 
ents were provided for in all counties of the State in 1919. 

An attempt in 1911 in Delaware to place control of the schools in 
the hands of county boards and county superintendents failed. The 
entire school code of the State was reenacted in 1919, the arovern- 
ing and administrative school boards and committees of every school 
district in the State were abolished, and the jurisdiction of the free 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


25 


public schools given to the county board of education, except for 13 
special districts named in the code. The county board was given 
authority to divide the county into appropriate and convenient 
school-attendance districts, keep a record of the boundaries, and pay 
the transportation of children that had not completed the sixth grade 
to a public elementary school if the school was more than 2 miles 
distant. The county board was required to consolidate schools when, 
in its judgment, it was practicable to do so and to provide trans¬ 
portation for children living in excess of 2 miles from the school. 
Children that had completed the sixth grade might be given free 
transportation if they lived in excess of 3 miles. It was also pro¬ 
vided that the county board should not, without the written ap¬ 
proval of the State commissioner of education, maintain a school in 
which the average daily attendance for the preceding three years had 
been less than 12 pupils. 

In 1920 the Legislature of Kentucky made provision for county 
boards of education of five members each to be chosen by popular 
election, the county boards to select the county superintendents and 
appoint the subdistrict trustees. Subdistricts may be consolidated 
by the board. Graded districts may consolidate with each other or 
with subdistricts by election. 

The Legislature of Maryland in 1922 rounded out an already 
strong county system in such a way as to greatly increase the amount 
and quality of the county supervision and to equalize school taxa¬ 
tion among the counties. Provision was made for increased salaries 
for county superintendents, the salaries to be based on the qualifica¬ 
tions and number of teachers in the county, and experience as a 
superintendent. Additional supervisory assistants were allowed to 
superintendents. 

During the decade the county superintendency of Alabama was 
changed from a part-time position paid on a percentage basis to 
a full-time salaried position requiring a professionally trained 
worker and competent assistants. In general, throughout the United 
States the county superintendency came to be looked upon as one 
of the very important administrative and supervisory positions to be 
well paid and filled by men and women of high qualifications and 
good experience. 

An optional county unit law for Oregon was enacted in 1901. 
A county unit plan was submitted to referendum vote in Missouri 
in 1922 and defeated. An attempt to pass a county unit law in 
Indiana in 1923 failed. 

The growth of high schools .—In some of the preceding pages at¬ 
tention has been called to the fact that most school consolidation has 
been effected for the purpose of establishing a central school of 


26 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


higher order, or a graded school, or, in more recent years, of providing 
high-school facilities where they could not be had without consolida¬ 
tion. In 1890 there were 2,526 public high schools, enrolling 202,968 
students; in 1920 there were 14,326, enrolling 1,857,155 students. In 
30 years 11,800 new high schools were opened, more than one for 
each calendar day, and the per cent of total population enrolled 
in high schools grew from 0.32 in 1890 to 1.76 in 1920. A large part 
of this growth has been in small towns, villages, and rural com¬ 
munities, partly because several influences have been at work ac¬ 
quainting rural people with the high school and making them feel 
it to be an integral part of their school system as much to be desired 
and as much due their children as the elementary school. Among 
these influences is the growing tendency to bring about a closer cor¬ 
relation between the work of the elementary grades and the high 
school. The gap between the two has been greatly lessened by such 
things as departmental teaching in the grades, the 6-3-3 plan of 
organization, and readjustment of courses. Through this closer cor¬ 
relation communities have been led naturally and easily to.provide 
secondary education. Another influence has been the growing tend¬ 
ency to look upon the high school not so much as a school prepara¬ 
tory to college but as a thing valuable in itself, without regard to 
later education. The broadening of the high-school curriculum with 
commercial courses, normal courses, courses in agriculture, domestic 
science, manual training, and other sciences, together with the estab¬ 
lishment of the elective principle in secondary education, and the 
growing willingness of colleges and universities to accept any well- 
taught and creditably completed high-school course toward college 
entrance have done much to popularize the high school and bring 
rural folk to the point of making unusual effort to secure high-school 
advantages for their children. Where this seemed impossible of 
attainment without consolidation, consolidation has often been ef¬ 
fected. Just as the little school was an integral part of the daily life, 
thought, and experience of the average rural American citizen, the 
high school is now coming to be a commonplace of his daily life, 
and he will probably give to it the same loyalty and cling to it with 
the same tenacity that he does to the little red schoolhouse. Think¬ 
ing in terms of the higher school brings about the organization nec¬ 
essary to provide that school. 

Increases in State aid .—A tendency to equalize the burden of sup¬ 
port for education by making the larger unit responsible manifested 
itself in several ways, among them in the greater number of States 
that gave direct aid to some types of schools, the larger amounts 
given, and closer supervision of the schools that received aid. Aid 
for consolidation was increased, and for the most part, where given, 



HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


27 


helped much in bringing about the establishment of consolidated 
schools. 

Notable examples of State-aid policy. —Among the better-known 
policies of direct State aid were those established in the Holmberg 
Act of Minnesota and the code of North Dakota, in 1911, the rural 
graded school act of South Carolina in 1912, the Buford-Colley Act 
of Missouri in 1913, and the Barrett-Rogers Act of Georgia in 1919. 

The Holmberg Act made consolidation much easier in Minnesota, 
in that only 25 per cent, instead of a majority of the resident free¬ 
holders, are required as signers of the petition asking for the elec¬ 
tion; and the consolidation may be effected by a majority vote at one 
central meeting of all the territory involved, not a majority in each 
district. It gave the State superintendent authority to set standards 
for the buildings and equipment, to establish regulations for trans¬ 
portation, and select by indorsement the principals of consolidated 
schools. Moreover, a district with the required area of 12 sections, 
whether the result of a union or not, might qualify for aid as a con¬ 
solidated school. Generous State aid was provided. 

In a little over a year after the passage of the act 60 communities 
organized under its terms; 30 of them met the requirements for aid 
in the year 1911-12. 

The report for 1916 states that 210 districts had been formed in the 
six years previous, 108 of them in the biennium 1915-16. 

Acting on the report of a commission appointed in 1909 to revise 
and recodify the school laws, the Legislature of North Dakota in 
1911 reenacted the entire school code and embodied a general policy 
for the improvement of rural schools and their standardization. As 
a part of this policy, the movement for consolidation was given 
definite force and direction. The position of State inspector of con¬ 
solidated, graded, and rural schools was established and appropria¬ 
tions were made amounting to $6,000 for State graded, $6,000 for 
State rural, and $3,000 for State consolidated schools, with the pro¬ 
viso that only one school of each class in any township could receive 
aid. Not more than five schools in the State were to receive aid to the 
amount of $2,500 each for the establishment of an industrial depart¬ 
ment. The State superintendent reported in 1912 that a total of 170 
consolidated, graded, and rural schools had qualified for State aid. 
He recommended increased appropriations for State aid, laid special 
emphasis on the value of consolidation, and asked the removal of the 
restriction that only one school in a township be given aid. 

The State inspector for the year 1912 outlined the legal methods 
then in existence by which consolidation could be effected. They 
were: Consolidating schools within districts; consolidating separate 
districts; forming a partnership of two or more districts in order 


28 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


to maintain a central high school or graded school; forming an 
association of schools to extend the teaching of agriculture, home 
economics, and manual training to rural schools; and closing 
small schools and transporting the pupils to more distant schools. 
Under the policy of State aid and inspection, the number of con¬ 
solidated schools grew from 114 in 1911 to 515 in 1922. 

The rural graded school act of South Carolina first carried a total 
amount of $15,000 of State aid. The amounts were increased by each 
succeeding legislature, the law amended in 1917 to include larger 
rural schools, and the appropriation for 1920 brought to $275,000. 
In 1920 there were 935 rural graded schools, with an average enroll¬ 
ment of 103 each. 

The Buford-Colley Act is strong in that the vote may be taken any 
time, and a majority of the voters in the entire area of the proposed 
consolidation determine its success. The district must have an area 
of at least 12 square miles and a school enumeration of 200 or more. 
It may by vote provide transportation. The State gives aid in build¬ 
ing to an amount not to exceed $2,000 if the school site is 5 acres or 
more, and the building is well heated, well lighted, and contains a 
large assembly room. Yearly aid to maintain the school may be 
given to a maximum of $800. Consolidated schools formed much 
more rapidly in Missouri after the act was passed. They grew in 
number from 83 in 1915, with a combined grade and high-school en¬ 
rollment of 14,259, to 168 in 1920, with an enrollment of 28,368. 

The Barrett-Rogers Act of Georgia set aside $100,000 annually, 
beginning with the year 1920, to aid in the establishment and mainte¬ 
nance of consolidated schools in every county of the State. In the 
following year 63 county high schools and 74 consolidated rural 
schools qualified for aid under its terms. 

State aid m erecting buildings as a 'part of consolidation policy .— 
In Oklahoma, Alabama, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, 
State aid for buildings, either as a part of consolidation laws or in¬ 
tended to further consolidation, was begun or increased. In 1910 
reports from 11 counties of Oklahoma show 25 consolidated schools 
and one union graded school. The consolidated districts then formed 
ranged in size from 12 to 40 sections and in assessed valuation from 
$42,825 to $644,807. One of these was a consolidated district for 
negroes. It contained 20 sections of land, with a taxable valuation 
of $42,825, had a tax levy of 12£ mills, a scholastic census of 273, and 
maintained two district schools. 

The legislature of 1911 provided State aid for one-half the cost of 
erecting buildings in union graded or consolidated school districts. 
The aid was conditioned on area of district, length of term, and 
actual attendance, but was in no case to exceed $2,500. The fimd 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 29 

was to come from rentals and sales of sections 33 and certain indem¬ 
nity lands in Greer County. 

In January 1, 1913, twenty-four schools had qualified for aid but 
the attorney general rendered an opinion that the appropriation was 
not a valid one and payment was withheld. The legislature of that 
year appropriated $100,000 for aid to consolidated schools and set 
aside land estimated to be worth approximately $2,000,000, all to be 
used for aid to consolidated schools. A year later 61 schools had 
qualified for aid and received $92,204. No appropriation was made 
in 1915 for this purpose. Five more schools received $6,187.50 from 
the amount set apart in 1913. 

The lack of State aid for the years 1915 and 1916 definitely re¬ 
tarded the consolidation movement, and during the biennium 1914 
to 1916 five consolidations were disorganized. In 1917 State aid for 
consolidated and union graded schools was again appropriated and 
has since been continued. 

The rural school building fund act of Alabama was so amended in 
1917 that the amount available was more than doubled, and the dis¬ 
tribution so fixed as to favor larger buildings and grounds. 

The Legislature of North Carolina in 1921 in order to help enlarge 
or rebuild altogether the entire school plants in a large majority of 
the counties directed the State treasurer to issue State bonds for the 
purpose of borrowing not to exceed five million dollars. The money 
obtained from the sale of the bonds is set apart as a special building 
fund to be loaned to county boards of education for building, equip¬ 
ping, and repairing public-school buildings, dormitories, and teacher- 
ages, and for purchasing suitable school sites. None of the loan may 
be used for any building of less than five rooms. It must be repaid 
with interest in 20 equal annual installments. It is of great help in 
furthering consolidation. 

In Tennessee, in 1919, of the general education fund 5 per cent 
was set apart to encourage supervision in the schools and to pay one- 
fourth the cost of a school building and one school wagon, the amount 
given as one-fourth not to exceed $1,000, conditioned on a county 
tax levy of 40 cents, with $2 for each poll, a school site of 5 acres, 
and a building erected by plans approved at the State department. 
In 1921, out of the State school fund, $570,000 was appropriated as 
an equalization fund; $100,000 for encouraging and aiding consoli¬ 
dated schools and supervision of teaching; and $95,000 to assist the 
counties in paying the salaries of county superintendents. 

The first direct consolidation law of Wisconsin was enacted in 
1913. It provided that consolidation of any two or more contiguous 
districts or* subdistricts could be brought about by a majority vote 
of the electors in each of the districts affected. The resulting dig- 


30 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


trict is known as, “ Consolidated Rural School District No.- 

The districts or subdistricts from which it is formed lose their cor¬ 
porate existence. The school may qualify for aid as a graded school, 
and, if it maintains a high school, for the aid given to high schools. 
The amount of the State apportionment received by the consolidated 
school is not less than the amount that would have been received by 
the separate districts forming the consolidation. If the district 
furnished transportation, it could be reimbursed. In addition State 
aid to defray one-half the cost of erecting and equipping a building 
was provided for in gradually increasing amounts from not more 
than $500 for a school of one department to $5,000 for a graded 
school and high school formed by uniting all the districts and sub¬ 
districts of a township. 

The legislature of 1917 embodied most of the transportation laws 
of the State in one chapter. It was made obligatory on the part of 
school boards of consolidated districts to furnish transportation to 
all pupils residing more than 2 miles from the schoolhouses. Dis¬ 
tricts that discontinue their schools must pay the tuition of the 
children in other schools and furnish transportation to those resid¬ 
ing more than 1 mile from the school they are to attend. In other 
cases furnishing transportation is permissive. The State reimburses 
the district in amounts depending on the mileage per day per pupil. 
Board and room may be furnished in lieu of transportation. 

In the same year the law relating to the formation of school dis¬ 
tricts and to changing their boundaries was changed and reenacted. 
Town, village, and city boards were given power to alter school dis¬ 
trict boundaries, and to create, consolidate, or dissolve school dis¬ 
tricts. The maximum of aid for erecting buildings in the smaller 
consolidated schools was raised from $500 to $1,000. If a district 
maintaining more than one school unite any two or more of them, 
the resulting school may receive State aid as a consolidation. If all 
the schools within the district are united, the district is termed con¬ 
solidated just as it would be if it were the resultant of a union of 
two or more districts. 

Aid as a bonus for closed schools .—The laws of Pennsylvania and 
Maine were changed so that a premium would be set on consolidation. 
In 1911 the State Legislature of Pennsylvania passed a very brief 
consolidation act making it the duty of school directors to abandon 
ungraded schools and establish graded, if in so doing no pupil of 
an abandoned school would be required to walk more than 1£ miles 
to the graded school. A special study made in 1918 indicates that 
592 one-room schools had been permanently closed by 1914 and 268 
vans were transporting 4,420 pupils to consolidated or jpint schools. 
By 1918 it was reported that 698 one-room schools were closed and 



HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


31 


6,251 pupils were being transported. The same study gives incom¬ 
plete figures of 9,988 one-room schools and 1,345 two-room schools 
for the State. Five hundred and fifty-seven townships are reported 
as being of such a nature that complete consolidation of the schools 
in each one would be feasible. A year later the present consolida¬ 
tion law was passed, $350,000 set apart to encourage the movement, 
and a definite policy for furthering it begun by the State depart¬ 
ment. The State pays annually to the district $200 for each school 
closed by consolidation, and will reimburse the district in one-half 
the amount expended for transportation, not including purchase and 
repair of vehicles, during the previous year. 

By the law of 1909 the consolidated district of Washington is 
credited, for purposes of apportionment, with the total aggregate 
days’ attendance and, in addition, 2,000 days’ attendance for each 
of the total number of districts less one so consolidated. 

Until 1911 the allowance of 2,000 days’ attendance amounted to 
about $170 annually for each district less one that joined in the con¬ 
solidation. For a number of years succeeding it was approximately 
$300. After the enactment of 1920 providing that the State fund 
equal $20 for each child of school age the amount increased to nearly 
$600. This bonus has been and is one of the strong factors in fur¬ 
thering consolidation in the State. 

In Maine in 1921 it was provided that if a school was closed or 
suspended, and the pupils conveyed to another school, there may 
be apportioned to the town the same amount as though the teach¬ 
ing position had been maintained, and such apportionment may con¬ 
tinue to the extent of one-half the cost of conveyance as long as the 
school remains closed. 

Direct aid for consolidation —In Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, 
West Virginia, Delaware, Tennessee, and Texas, direct aid to con¬ 
solidated schools was begun. 

The General Assembly of Iowa in 1913 authorized State aid in 
amounts ranging from $450 to $1,250 annually for consolidated 
schools of two or more rooms and giving courses in agriculture, 
home economics, and other industrial subjects. In the four years 
following, 226 consolidations were formed. 

In 1915 the first consolidation law of Nebraska as such was en¬ 
acted. The consolidation depended on a majority vote in each of 
the districts affected. The districts that voted favorably could con¬ 
solidate; those that voted against it kept out of the consolidation. 
Transportation was required for all children residing more than 
2 miles from the schoolhouse. State aid of from $100 to $250 
for equipment and $150 to $300 annually for maintenance was pro¬ 
vided under conditions relating to the size of the school, the courses 


32 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


offered, the kind of teachers employed, and the transportation fur¬ 
nished. Up to the time of this law, 19 consolidations had been ef¬ 
fected. In the two years following it 31 were added to the list. 

In 1918 the State superintendent of South Dakota recommended 
State aid for consolidated schools, and a year later the legislature 
appropriated $185,000 for the years 1920 and 1921, to be used for 
aid to State rural schools and State consolidated schools. A State 
rural school which meets certain requirements as to length of term, 
building, playground, and teacher, is given $150 a year; a first-class 
consolidated school, $400; a second-class consolidated school, $250; 
a consolidated high school, $600; and for the erection of a teacher’s 
home, $500. In 1920, 97 rural schools, 24 second-class consolidated, 
7 first-class consolidated, 1 high school, and 9 teachers’ cottages 
were aided, to the amount of $28,325. 

The West Virginia Legislature of 1915 amended the school law 
so that a county board must close a school that for two successive 
months had an average attendance of less than 10, and might con¬ 
solidate subdistricts with the consent of a majority of the voters in 
the districts. The code of 1919 made consolidation much easier by 
giving the district board authority to close any schools that may be 
unnecessary, to consolidate two or more small schools into central 
graded schools known as consolidated schools, and to provide for 
transportation of pupils to and from consolidated schools or other 
schools at public expense. It authorized also the establishment of 
junior high schools. In 1921 State aid to consolidated schools 
was begun. 

The Delaware law of 1915 that permitted the alteration of school 
district boundaries also granted aid in an amount not to exceed 
$1,000 a year to any altered district that was trying to establish 
a four-year high school. 

Texas began a policy of making lump sum appropriations to aid 
rural schools in 1915, the first amount being $500,000. The policy 
has been continued, and the amounts increased. To some extent 
this aid has been used in furthering consolidation. 

National cooperation in education .—The broad development of 
the national system of cooperative extension work in agriculture 
and home economics under the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, and the 
extension of vocational education both with and without the co¬ 
operation afforded by the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, have un¬ 
doubtedly helped very much in furthering the consolidation move¬ 
ment. The extension work in agriculture has fostered a community 
spirit among rural folk and given them a knowledge of the value 
of more varied school curricula, things that are necessary in the 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


33 


advancement of consolidation. In 1914 there were approximately 
900 counties with agricultural agents, and 275 with home demon¬ 
stration agents. The contributions to the extension work from 
county sources was $780,000. In 1920 there were 2,000 agricultural 
agents, 800 home demonstration agents, 300 county leaders of club 
work, and county contributions of $4,780,000. 

In general, vocational education calls for a school of more than 
one teacher because of the specially-trained teacher required, the 
special kind of equipment needed, and the additional time taken 
up by the courses. In order to carry on such work in cooperation 
with the Federal board, schools must be fairly strong and be able 
to do it effectively. Nearly all of the cooperative vocational work 
in agriculture is being done in rural high schools, many of them 
consolidated schools. The need for having a school that can do 
vocational work effectively and the stimulus provided by State 
and national aid for such work have turned the thought of rural 
people toward the centralized school as the type best suited to 
keep them in contact with the larger agencies that are furthering 
education. 

The State board for vocational education of Mississippi expresses 
its attitude toward consolidated schools as follows: 3 

In the future it will be a policy of the State vocational board to give pref¬ 
erence in general to consolidated schools over other types of high schools in the 
matter of establishing departments of vocational agriculture. There is good 
and sufficient reason to justify such a policy. At present there are within the 
State 700 consolidated schools, and 200 of these own a teacher’s home. The 
number of consolidated schools is being greatly increased each year. For the 
most part these schools are located in rural farming communities where exists 
a genuine need for such a department, and they represent the best type of 
school for successful work in vocational agriculture. The consolidated school 
district usually represents a single community, and with all its pupils from 
farm homes coming to school daily, this type of school offers distinct advan¬ 
tages for vocational agriculture over any type of town or boarding school with 
a larger territory and with wholly different conditions. The teacher’s home at 
sucli schools adds to the happiness, contentment, and permanency of the teacher, 
who is employed for 12 months in the year. This feature, together with the 
reasonably good salary the school is able to offer through receiving State and 
Federal aid from the State vocational board, makes it possible to secure for 
teacher the more mature and experienced college-trained man who is capable 
of serving as school and community leader in its broad sense. No other school 
offers greater opportunity for real leadership and service than does the con¬ 
solidated school. In short, by giving preference in establishing departments of 
vocational agriculture to consolidated schools, it is believed that the State 
board is discharging its duty of expending State and Federal funds wisely and 
economically, and that there will be done “ the greatest good to the greatest 
number.” 


3 Establishing Departments of Vocational Agriculture in Consolidated Schools. Bui. 
No. 28, Miss. State Bd. for Voca. Ed., Jackson, Miss., pp. 3-4. 



34 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Growth of teacher-training .—Increases in the number of teacher¬ 
training institutions and a better realization of the professional 
character of teaching have helped consolidation. The supply of well- 
trained teachers is always inadequate. The better ones go to the 
larger schools, where they feel they can accomplish more and the 
wages will be more commensurate with their skill. Some rural com¬ 
munities have known this and have built the consolidated school 
that they may be in position to employ the higher type of service. 
A number of colleges and normal schools are offering courses in 
school consolidation and transportation, courses designed to meet the 
growing demand for administrators and teachers trained to work in 
consolidated schools. As this phase of teacher-training develops, the 
consolidated school will be a more successful institution and will 
make its way more readily. 

State divisions of rural education .—Large cities have set up their 
independent school systems and the State departments of education, 
relieved to a great degree of the burden of urban education, have 
turned their attention to the rural schools. A majority of the State 
departments have established divisions of rural schools in recent 
years. This has given recognition to rural education as a problem 
in many ways distinctive, has focused attention upon it, and led to 
more careful investigation of it. The divisions of rural schools have 
been giving consolidation a large measure of attention, generally 
favorable, and in some instances as leaders in campaigns for it. 

THE RELATION OF ECONOMIC FORCES TO CONSOLIDATION. 

Economic forces have had much to do with starting and increasing 
consolidation. The growth of the great manufacturing centers in 
New England and the depopulation of the rural sections brought 
very large numbers of children together in the cities and more or 
less forced the setting-up of organized, centralized school plants, the 
graded school, and the widened curriculum. At the same time the de¬ 
pleted country schools were compelled to unite or go out of existence. 
Without exception consolidation has made rapid progress in those 
States where the percentage of the population that is urban is 
increasing rapidly and the percentage of rural population is decreas¬ 
ing. As industrial centers have grown, the rural sections surround¬ 
ing them have, by virtue of the closer contact, seen and appreciated 
the better principles of education and applied them to their own 
schools. 

The economic principle of organized effort has carried over into 
education fairly easily in the cities; much more slowly in the country. 
The rural United States has had no wide experience in effective busi¬ 
ness organization to apply to its schools. Where conditions have 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


35 


forced rural organizations for production, protection, or marketing, 
some form of centralized school has developed at the same time or 
followed shortly after. Given the need or the desire for community 
solidarity, the consolidated school develops, being strengthened by 
and in turn strengthening the feeling which brought the school 
about. 

The automobile and the good-roads programs, National and 
State, have hastened consolidation. In 1914 there were 1,711,000 
motor vehicles registered in the United States; 6,147,000 in 1917; 
9,232,000 in 1920; and 12,238,375 in 1922. The estimated expenditure 
for roads in 1910 was $120,000,000, and in 1921, $767,000,000. When 
the area served by any one school had to be measured in terms of the 
walking strength of children, 3 miles in all directions from the 
schoolhouse was about the maximum limit. If horse-drawn vehicles 
were used, the limit could be extended to 6 or 7 miles. Under similar 
conditions with the same or less expenditure of time and strength 
on the part of the children, an auto bus can convey pupils from 15 
to 20 miles. As a time-limit proposition, the automobile has multi¬ 
plied by from 36 to 64 the possible area that may be served by one 
school. The better the roads over which the auto busses must travel, 
the greater the area that may be served. Good roads make possible 
and often have a considerable effect in bringing about consolidation. 
An established consolidated school may serve to call attention to 
bad roads and lead in a movement for their betterment. Ease of 
communication makes for education, and education makes for ease 
of communication. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HISTORY OF CONSOLIDATION. 

Consolidation has grown out of the soil. Education in the United 
States began as a matter of local responsibility. Each locality clung 
to the right to administer its own schools, and most of them still 
cling to it. While the tendency is to recognize in administration, 
supervision, and financial support the responsibility and authority of 
the larger political unit, that recognition has come slowly and only so 
fast as its advantages are more widely known and appreciated. 

Laws for changes from district or ward to municipal control, those 
for changes from district to town, township, or county control, in 
nearly all cases began as special enactments for certain sections, and 
when shown to be successful in practice were made permissive for 
an entire State and later mandatory. The progressive steps have 
extended over periods of some years, and final change has often been 
preceded by several unsuccessful attempts. Attempts to force the 
giving up of local control have met with failure. Sudden and ex¬ 
tensive readjustments have usually resulted in severe reactions. 


36 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Campaigns for consolidation have been educative and directive in 
character, and wherever they have been persistently carried on for 
a considerable period of time have accomplished much. Even with¬ 
out such campaigns a large number of consolidated schools have been 
formed. 

Begun voluntarily in New England by people who were convinced 
that it was advantageous, rural school consolidation has spread over 
the United States largely by its own strength. As only one of sev¬ 
eral ways of decreasing the vast number of small administrative 
units, it has been made use of more and more each succeeding year 
in district, township, and county systems of schools. Laws on the 
subject are still almost entirely permissive. They are mandatory 
only in so far as they limit the number of schools or districts that 
may be established and as they require the closing of small schools. 
A rural section may determine for itself whether or not its schools 
are to be united. 

From its inception consolidation has been and is now mainly a 
movement to establish larger, better schools within the greater 
county or State system, and its effect is generally to strengthen and 
centralize that system as well as to better conditions in the imme¬ 
diate local area. This is in direct contradistinction to many of the 
special, independent, special tax, municipal, and other districts that 
are formed for the purpose of having better schools, but in trying to 
bring that about, break away more or less from the higher authority, 
in a very definite sense decentralize the greater unit, and often stand 
in the way of progress for the greater number of schools. Consoli¬ 
dation, especially when well planned in advance for an entire county 
or a large area, aims for improvement that will be general and 
fairly equal. 

The principle of consolidation has gone from State to State by 
force of example. In its application to urban schools it overtook 
and displaced the ungraded school principle before a considerable 
number of the States had established their systems and built their 
larger cities. Though moving out more slowly into rural areas, it 
nevertheless had strength enough to prevent in some sections the 
decentralization of education characteristic of early settlement in 
the United States. 

Consolidation has made good advances under every type of educa¬ 
tional administration that has been used in the Nation. In the dis¬ 
trict, subdistrict, town, township, county, and State systems alike, 
wherever there has been the will to improve schools by consolidation, 
the movement has gone forward. Undoubtedly, the strong county 
unit system is one* of the most favorable to its growth, but all the 
complications of the strongest district systems have not served to 
arrest it. 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


37 


Consolidation and transportation have been and are closely con¬ 
nected with movements for gradation of schools, wider opportuni¬ 
ties for secondary education, more diversified curricula, better trained 
teachers, careful supervision, more adequate school plants, more 
healthful conditions for school children, an equitable distribution of 
the burdens of school taxation, and the establishment of larger units 
of administration. Along with these, consolidation and transporta¬ 
tion have been accepted as correct educational policies and have 
progressed with equal or nearly equal rapidity. 

AN EVALUATION OF THE CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION 
MOVEMENT. 

From what has just been given of the history of its growth, some 
determination may be made of the value of the consolidation move¬ 
ment. It has progressed slowly, often under adverse conditions and 
in spite of bitter opposition. A policy that was not inherently 
strong could not have continued its existence as consolidation has. 
It has gained steadily and has uniformly held nearly all of the 
ground gained. It has now a record of 80 years of achievement to 
its credit. It is in no sense an educational fad or experiment. It has 
been responsive alike to economic and to educational changes, and 
has taken its place among the strong school policies of the United 
States. 

Consolidation of schools and transportation of pupils are instru¬ 
ments wholly, means with which to attain the purposes of educa¬ 
tion. It is to be hoped that consolidation as a special term may be 
lost to the educational language because the purpose for which it is 
given special meaning will have been accomplished, that in so far 
as it is possible to decrease the number of administrative school units 
and thereby better the schools, the work will have been completed, 
the instrument no longer useful. In many of the older cities this 
has already come about. The consolidations effected in building the 
systems are almost entirely forgotten. No one thinks of the schools 
as consolidated. 

Some errors have been made in connection with consolidation of 
schools because it has been looked upon as an end rather than a way 
of establishing media through which other educational activities may 
more readily function. In some respects it has been a matter for 
regret that the name of a process is applied to the result of the 
process. Occasionally it has led school patrons to expect too much 
of the consolidated school. At times it has also led to lack of 
recognition for equally good results when accomplished through 
other processes. 

The advantages of the consolidated school over the one-room or 
one-teacher school as an instrument for rural education have been 


38 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


set forth by many writers and speakers on the subject. A list of all 
the claims made would be very long. Too often it has been assumed 
that those advantages followed as a matter of fact after schools were 
united, that the mere uniting was per se enough to bring them about. 
As a process, consolidation makes certain desirable things easier of 
attainment. Whether or not they are attained depends upon how 
the school is managed. 

In the matter of school finances these are some of the things 
that should be taken into consideration: 

1. Consolidation serves to concentrate the school revenues of a 
given area at one or a few points. That concentration is in accord 
with sound business principles. The investment in the large, well- 
placed building, substantial and permanent, has fewer risks than 
investments in small isolated buildings scattered here and there. 
The one-room school is a disappearing institution. It is not a 
thing into which large amounts of public money for construction 
should be placed. 

The investment in the larger building having been made, the 
property is more easily kept from deterioration, may be better 
safeguarded by insurance, suffers less from depreciation, and is 
much more apt to be so located that it is salable, if the necessity 
for a sale ever arises. 

Consolidation offers simpler, less complicated, and more accurate 
ways of keeping account of school funds, determining how they 
are spent, the values obtained in return, the points of waste, and 
the effectiveness of the expenditures. So long as school moneys 
are spent by many small boards and accounting is done in a hap¬ 
hazard way by people untrained to do it, there will be little possi¬ 
bility of getting the accurate data necessary to correlate the use 
of the school dollar with the result obtained. 

2. Consolidation helps to distribute the burden of school taxation 
more equitably over the larger area. Throughout the history of 
education in the United States numberless instances have been cited 
by writers and speakers of the fact that the distribution of taxable 
wealth and the distribution of children to be educated are not 
uniform. Where the one is the other may not be, often is not. 
Schools with large enrollments frequently have but little taxable 
wealth to support them, while other schools backed by great wealth 
have but few children to educate. The only solution is to unite 
weak areas with strong in such a way as to apply the proceeds of 
the wealth at the place where the children to be educated are. 

3. Consolidation offers the possibility of arranging better units 
for the apportionment of school funds. School moneys should be 
distributed according to needs, in such a way as to stimulate effort, 


HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IT. 


39 


and to set a premium on proper use. The larger schools more 
frequently than the small ones know their needs in a business-like 
way, and have carefully prepared budgets. The community effort 
necessary to effect consolidation directs more attention to school 
funds and brings about a better understanding of the essentials 
of school fund distribution. There is less apt to be detailed inelastic 
laws for distribution that allow no latitude to meet changing condi¬ 
tions. 

4. State and Federal aid for education can better be focused 
through the media of the larger schools. Much of such aid is given 
for special purposes. The small school can not meet the require¬ 
ments necessary for receiving it. A community that has united its 
small schools may build an institution strong enough to deal with 
the broader agencies that are furthering education. 

5. In some cases it costs less to maintain the consolidated school 
than the one-room schools that were united to form it. In very 
small schools, those having fewer than 15 to 20 pupils, the instruc¬ 
tional costs per attendance child are very high. Four or five schools 
may be united, the number of teachers reduced, and the cost lessened. 
Occasionally it is cheaper to transport the children of a small school 
than to employ a teacher for them. The advocates of consolidation, 
however, do not in general claim or desire lessened expenditure for 
education. Effective consolidation is usually accompanied or fol¬ 
lowed by a better building, better teachers, longer terms, wider cur¬ 
ricula, and other things that make the actual amount of money spent 
much greater than that in the small schools. It is believed and 
fairly well proved that the advantages gained by consolidation 
are far more than commensurate with the increased expenditure. 

In matters of organization, administration, and supervision the 
better class of consolidated schools have all the advantages of the 
larger schools. In organization there is the division into grades, 
with the larger classes, better gradation of pupils, teachers devoting 
their time to one or two grades or special subjects, the possibility of 
more thorough work, of offering more subjects, and of providing 
for secondary education. There may be less duplication of effort 
and of apparatus. There is better opportunity for measurement 
and comparison with other schools and systems. 

In administering consolidated schools there is greater concentra¬ 
tion of effort, fewer lay boards with which to deal, and the need for 
employing professional administrators and teachers is bringing 
about such employment. Longer school terms are made possible 
and better equipment may be provided. 

From the point of view of the supervisor the central school is 
better in that there is time saved in reaching the schools and in 


40 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


meeting teachers, as well as the better trained teachers with which 
to work. 

From the community and social viewpoint the consolidated school 
may offer better opportunities for both children and grown folk. 
To the child there are undoubted advantages in the stimulus of the 
greater group, the wider play activities, and the extended circle 
of acquaintance. He is more apt to attend regularly and to stay 
in school for a greater number of years. For the adults of the 
community a good consolidated school may rouse public interest, 
provide a social and intellectual center, create a wholesome pride, 
and overcome many of the petty jealousies that are harmful in the 
small school. 

When properly managed the consolidated school is an effective 
instrument for extending better educational advantages over ever- 
increasing areas and to greater numbers of children. 


Chapter II. 

THE PRESENT STATUS OF CONSOLIDATION. 


FORMS OF CONSOLIDATION. 

In the long effort to better the rural schools by concentrating the 
school work in fewer places, centralizing the control, and distribut¬ 
ing the tax responsibility more equitably over larger units, several 
kinds of consolidated schools have developed. 

The typical complete consolidation .—In its best form the consoli¬ 
dated school has now come to be a school located at or near the center 
of a natural community, the resultant of a combination of a number 
of smaller schools each of which has given up its identity as an ad¬ 
ministrative school unit, maintaining full-grade and high-school 
courses, organized on the 7-4, 8-4, -or 6-3r-3 plan, offering a diversi¬ 
fied curriculum, housed in a modern plant equipped for giving 
effectively the courses offered, transporting to and from school by 
safe and sanitary methods the pupils that live too far from the school 
, building to walk, and functioning as a center for community activi¬ 
ties. This is sometimes known as a complete consolidation and is 
the type generally advocated wherever there are enough children 
and taxable wealth to make it possible. 

It is a complete consolidation, by grades , for all the grades requi¬ 
site in the elementary and secondary school are maintained. The 
county unit of administration for all rural schools within the county 
has its greatest strength in that under the county organization the 
rural children may be trained in a few such completely consolidated 
schools. 

The consolidation not a result of a uniting. —In some of the 
areas under process of settlement in recent years this fine type of 
school has been developed without going through the usual prelimi¬ 
nary stage of decentralization. Central schools with transporta¬ 
tion were maintained from the time the first school was necessary 
in the area. This has been especially true of some sections of 
Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. The 
trend now is to include within the term “ consolidated ” those 
rural schools, without regard to whether they are the resultant 
of a union, that have the characteristics of the higher type of 

41 



42 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


consolidated school. In Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, 
and Minnesota the determination of the consolidation depends 
more on the size of the district or school than on the manner of its 
formation. 

Partial consolidation by grades .—Another form of consolidation 
is partial consolidation, using the term to apply to grades. A cen¬ 
tral school is established to serve some given area and to this school 
come the children of the upper grades, while some or all of those 
of the lower grades are taught in small outlying schools. The area 
served by the central school may be a community, a township, a dis¬ 
trict, parts of any of these, or unions of them, and in some cases 
even a county. There are a number of examples of this rather effec¬ 
tive way of dealing with situations where complete consolidation is 
not practicable or perhaps not possible. 

In Louisiana it is spoken of as “ grade limitation ” and is reported 
as follows: 

It frequently happens that the closing of all the small schools around a center 
is not desirable—too many pupils in the lower grades to transport, distance 
too great for small children, or other equally good reasons that apply to par¬ 
ticular situations. In such instances it is now customary to retain such schools 
with the provision that attendance be limited to three or four or possibly five 
grades, the pupils in grades above being required to attend the central school. 
Where the number of pupils requires two teachers, the grades are limited to 
five or six or seven at the most. There are a few instances of schools having 
three and four teachers that limit their work to the elementary grades and 
require the advanced pupils to attend a near-by consolidated high school. This 
variation eliminates the inconvenience and expense of transporting large num¬ 
bers of small children, partially satisfies local pride, and still permits the 
concentration of a sufficient number of pupils in the upper grades to justify 
employing several teachers and the growth of full high-school departments. 
“ Grade limitation ” is now a factor that is given consideration whenever a 
program for consolidation is proposed. 

In 1919 the State board of Delaware began a policy of “ delimita¬ 
tion of grades ” by arranging as far as possible that the one-room 
schools should be limited to the first six grades and the older children 
transported to central schools for junior and senior high-school 
instruction. 

The wing plan of Oklahoma differs from the transportation plan 
in the State, in that the children are not hauled to school, and the 
remote districts are furnished with small buildings, which serve as 
wings to one large central building. This plan is most popular 
in districts where roads and bridges have not been constructed and 
where the children can not be hauled to school conveniently in the 
public vans. The wing schools have courses up to the fifth grade. 
The superintendent of the central school at regular intervals is 


PRESENT STATUS OF CONSOLIDATION. 


43 


supposed to visit the wings and to have general supervision over 
them. The plan has the effect of giving the county superintendent 
several assistant superintendents as well qualified as he. The average 
tax levy for this plan is 7^ mills. 

Complete and partial consolidation by territory .—The words “ com¬ 
plete ” and “ partial ” as applied to consolidation are frequently used 
with reference to territory as well as grades. A county or town¬ 
ship is spoken of as being completely consolidated when all of the 
children are attending consolidated schools; as partially consolidated 
when it has some consolidated schools and some small schools not 
serving as “ wing ” schools to any consolidation. 

Forms of centralized schools not commonly considered consolida¬ 
tions. —There are several types of centralized schools, mostly rural, 
that are not commonly listed as consolidations but probably may be 
considered such. 

The State superintendent of Wisconsin classes the State graded 
schools with the consolidations. 

Nearly all of the consolidation that has been effected in Wisconsin has been 
done in connection with the State graded schools. Every State graded school 
is the expression of a public attitude that is in favor of centralized school 
facilities and that is opposed to the decentralization which is expressed in the 
one-room rural school. 

This favorable attitude toward consolidation is represented in two different 
ways among the 623 graded school districts in the State. The first, and the 
one most frequently found, is the district school whose school population has 
become too great for a one-room school and one teacher to accommodate it. 
The people realize that 30 to 40 children are as many as a teacher should be 
expected to manage successfully. The question thus arises, would it be better 
to divide the district, create two schools, and duplicate the bad conditions of 
a crowded program, or would the better course be to have two teachers, each 
with half the number of grades of pupils to manage, and receive the special 
State aid for a graded school. The question is usually answered by organizing 
a State graded school, which, if not a technical consolidation, is a refusal to 
decentralize. Many of these schools have grown to three and four departments 
and finally into high schools. 

A second and direct method of consolidation is found when people see the 
great advantage there is in the large graded school over either the large or 
the small one-room school, and two or more districts are consolidated. 

The rural graded school of South Carolina, often formed by com¬ 
bining smaller schools, receiving State aid, and being required to 
meet some of the standards characteristic of consolidated schools, 
may be considered a kind of consolidation. The rural school super¬ 
visor reports that in the years from 1914 to 1920 the number of 
white one-teacher schools was reduced from 1,701 to 1,008 by the 
administration of the rural graded school law. 

Union high schools. —How far one may be justified in classing as 
consolidations some of the different kinds of high schools in the 


44 SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 

United States is something of a question. Certainly the union high 
schools of California may properly be considered partial consolida¬ 
tions for secondary-school purposes. The township and community 
high schools of Illinois are unquestionably consolidations for sec¬ 
ondary education. 

County secondary schools .—The county high schools authorized by 
law and maintained in 27 States are not consolidations in the sense 
that they have been formed by uniting districts or schools, and they 
do not as a rule give any elementary instruction. They are con¬ 
solidations, inasmuch as they represent the taxable wealth and edu¬ 
cational effort of a large area concentrated on one or two secondary 
schools that draw their pupils from the entire area and are under 
the administration of one board. Closely akin to these are the county 
agricultural schools of Michigan, Mississippi, North Dakota, and 
Wisconsin, and the farm-life schools of North Carolina. 

None, or very few, of these county secondary schools furnish any 
transportation. In some 15 of the States, however, mostly in the 
West and South, there are secondary schools under county control 
that have dormitories for pupils that live at a distance and furnish 
board and room at low rates. In Wyoming the county high school 
with a dormitory is looked upon as consolidation or at least a fore¬ 
runner of the type of consolidated school that may be developed in 
sparsely settled areas. The high-school district of the State is not 
a union of elementary-school districts for high-school purposes, but 
a body corporate embracing all territory that has by majority vote 
decided to join in the organization to maintain a secondary school; 
is governed by an elective board of three trustees; may be bonded for 
the erection of buildings; and may be taxed not to exceed 10 mills on 
the dollar of assessed valuation for current expense. It may include 
an entire county. 

Statistical data for these county secondary schools are not in¬ 
cluded in those given in this bulletin. 

Unusual forms of centralization .—There are three rather unusual 
attempts at kinds of centralization to which attention needs to be 
called. They are the community use of the school plant in Washing¬ 
ton, the method of administering unorganized territory in Maine, 
and the redistricting law of Nebraska. 

In 1913 a law was enacted in Washington providing for a wider 
use of the school plant. The two important sections of the act read: 

That school boards in each district of the second class and third class may 
provide for the free, comfortable, and convenient use of the school property to 
promote and facilitate frequent meetings and associations of the people in dis¬ 
cussion, study, improvement, recreation and other community purposes, and 


BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1S23, NO. 41 PLATE 6 



A. A teachers' cottage in Kansas. 



B. A teachers’ rest room in a consolidated school 

HOME COMFORTS FOR TEACHERS. 




















BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 7 



A. School gardening. 



B. Learning to judge poultry. 

STUDYING SCIENCE IN NATURE’S LABORATORIES. 







BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 8 



A. Learning to judge stock. 



B. Cultivating a schooi farm. 

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND AGRICULTURE IN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 








BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 9 



A. GARAGE AND FLEET OF TRANSPORTATION BUSSES AT A CONSOLIDATED 

SCHOOL IN UTAH. 



B. AN OPEN-COUNTRY CONSOLIDATION IN KANSAS; 125 CHILDREN ARE TRANS¬ 
PORTED DAILY FROM AN AREA OF 54 SQUARE MILES. 













PRESENT STATUS OF CONSOLIDATION. 


45 


may acquire, assemble and house material for the dissemination of information 
of use and interest to the farm, the home, and the community, and facilities for 
experiment and study, especially in matters pertaining to the growing of crops, 
the improvement and handling of livestock, the marketing of farm products, 
the planning and construction of farm buildings, the subjects of household eco¬ 
nomics, home industries, good roads, and community vocations and industries; 
and may call meetings for the consideration and discussion of any such matters, 
employ a special supervisor or leader, if need be, and provide suitable dwellings 
and accommodations for teachers, supervisors, and necessary assistants. 

That each school district of the second or third class, by itself or in com¬ 
bination with any other district or districts, shall have power, when in the 
judgment of the school board it shall be deemed expedient, to reconstruct, re¬ 
model, or build schoolhouses, and to erect, purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire 
other improvements and real and personal property, and establish a communal 
assembly place and appurtenances, and supply the same with suitable and 
convenient furnishings and facilities for the uses mentioned in section 1 of 
this act 

A commission ofL seven members, including the State superintend¬ 
ent, passes on the plans of any district or combination of districts. 
If the district has a large school plant or extends over a large area, 
little effort is made to include outside districts, and the center is 
known as an “ independent center.” By 1920 there were 608 com¬ 
munity centers; 140 independent; 171 rural district group centers 
with no town included; 275 centers including a town and adjacent 
districts; and 22 districts not included in other center organizations. 

About 48 per cent of the area of Maine is unorganized for pur¬ 
poses of local government. The first law passed for providing 
schools for this territory was in 1897. For purposes of school ad¬ 
ministration the entire area was placed under the direct control of 
the State superintendent. He was given authority to appoint agents 
for the unorganized townships, who attended to all necessary details 
in relation to providing schools for the children. The law was 
amended and changed in 1919 in such a way as to further centralize 
these schools in the hands of the State superintendent and to give 
him power to provide both elementary and secondary education for 
all children living in unorganized territory. 

A redistricting law was passed in Nebraska in 1919. It provides 
in effect for a mapping of every county in the State into districts 
of approximately 25 sections each. An appeal from the decision of 
the county redistricting committee may be taken to the State super¬ 
intendent and his judgment may be subject to the outcome of a local 
election. The law is unique in that it arranges a way for trying 
to determine an equitable adjustment of district boundaries in an 
entire State. It is being carried out very slowly. 


52571°—23-4 



46 SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 

A STATISTICAL MEASURE OF CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPOR¬ 
TATION. 

An indirect and relative measure .—It is obvious that from the 
number of kinds of consolidation, the varying conceptions of it, and 
the differing definitions, an attempt to give accurate statistical data 
as to the absolute amount of consolidation in the United States, its 
relative amount as compared with totals for elementary and second¬ 
ary education, and definite measurements of its progress in the en¬ 
tire country, must meet with only partial success. Much of the data 
are not comparable. Questionnaires made to fit conditions in one 
section do not meet those of another. Kecords of consolidations have 
not been kept at all in some States, only spasmodically in other 
States, and consistently year by year in very few States. In the re¬ 
ports published annually or biennially by departments of education, 
data for consolidated schools have not, as a rule, been segregated. 
Moreover, there has been no careful determination of the special 
kinds of information that are necessary and valuable as bases for 
comparing consolidated schools with other schools. 

It has been customary in making a statement of consolidation or 
centralization in any State to give the number of schools that the 
author has chosen to classify as consolidated, the number of schools 
discontinued to form them, descriptions of some typical consolida¬ 
tions, and facts of various kinds regarding enrollment, attendance, 
costs of transportation, courses offered, etc. These are absolute 
measures of the actual amount of consolidation in any given in¬ 
stance, but are in no sense relative and are perhaps of limited value 
in that they express little or nothing of the comparative extent to 
which this type of school is playing its part in any system, large or 
small, and its worth in educational effectiveness. The table on 
page 77, showing the progress of consolidation in Indiana, and the 
map of Pennsylvania, indicating the number of consolidations ef¬ 
fected and projects under way, are measures of this kind. They 
may, and perhaps often do, convey an impression that the consoli¬ 
dated school has made greater progress than it actually has or is a 
more common kind of educational factory than it really is. 

More nearly correct measures of the consolidation and centraliza¬ 
tion and its growth in any State or the United States can be made to 
some extent in relative and indirect terms. 

Note the first six columns of Table 1, on page 52. Columns 2 
and 3 give the enrollment by States for the year 1919-20 and the per 
cent of increase or decrease for the decade 1910-1920. Only three 
States—Maine, Mississippi, and Missouri—report decreases. Col- 


PRESENT STATUS OF CONSOLIDATION. 47 

limns 4, 5, and 6 give the number of schoolhouses in 1910 and 1920 
and the per cent of decrease or increase for the decade. 

In these five columns there is a rather broad indication of the 
degree to which the schools of any State are centralized, at least 
in so far as grouping children is concerned, and whether the cen¬ 
tralization is increasing. 

For example, Michigan and North Carolina were almost equal in 
school enrollment in 1920, the figures being 691,674 and 691,249. In 
the former State there were 8,941 schoolhouses; in the latter 7,994, 
or 947 less. In the one there was a gain of 27.7 per cent in enroll¬ 
ment and of 3.9 per cent in number of school buildings; in the other 
32.8 per cent in enrollment and 5.06 per cent in buildings. The ratio 
between per cent of enrolhnent gain and building gain was approxi¬ 
mately equal in the two States. The schools of North Carolina are, 
from this statistical evidence, more centralized than those of Mich¬ 
igan. In the decade 1910 to 1920 the two States were trending 
toward centralization at about the same rate. 

For another comparison, New York and Pennsylvania are the two 
largest school systems of the United States. New York enrolled 
1,719,841 children and used 11,824 school buildings. Pennsylvania 
enrolled 1,610,459 children and used 15,303 buildings, almost 3,500 
more buildings for an enrollment 109,000 less. Pennsylvania has 
a land area some 2,822 square miles smaller than that of New York. 
Obviously its school children are much less closely grouped than those 
of New York. Neither State effected much centralization in the 
decade 1910 to 1920. 

In a similar way comparisons may be made between any two States 
or groups of States and a rough estimate made of the degree to 
which the school children are assembled in large groups. It is 
worthy of note that, while the enrollment for the United States in¬ 
creased by 21.1 per cent for the decade, the number of buildings in¬ 
creased by only 2 per cent. In part this must be interpreted to mean 
that, owing to the cessation of building during war time, there is 
a great shortage of buildings, especially in the cities. But it is also 
partly due to the fact that increases in enrollment are being cared 
for by administrative units already established rather than by creat¬ 
ing new units and erecting new and separate buildings. 

Like estimates may be made by using the number of schools given 
in columns 7, 8, and 9 as a factor, rather than the number of school 
buildings. This is less satisfactory because the word school varies 
greatly in meaning, and there is danger of making comparisons with 
figures that are not comparable. Care should certainly be exercised 
in using the figures of Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire, and 


48 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Khode Island—States that report a schoolroom as a school—with 
other States that report a building under the charge of a principal 
as a school. 

The number of one-room or one-teacher schools—the terms are 
here used interchangeably for convenience—the rate at which they 
are increasing or decreasing, and the relation which the attendance 
and teaching corps in them bears to the totals of attendance and 
teachers for the State as given in columns 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are 
in a sense negative measures of the progress and amount of consoli¬ 
dation and positive measures of the work yet to be done along that 
line. Unfortunately the attendance in one-room schools can not 
be obtained for many of the States. 

North Carolina, with 4,174 one-room schools out of 7,994 school 
buildings, a State enrollment of 691,249, and 24.7 per cent of its 
teaching force engaged in teaching one-room schools, has increased its 
enrollment in a decade by 32.8 per cent and the number of buildings 
by 5 per cent, and at the same time has decreased the number of one- 
room schools by 30 per cent and the number of teachers employed 
in those schools in even greater ratio. These figures are certainly 
indicative of a strong tendency toward centralization and consoli¬ 
dation. 

Kansas, with 9,509 school buildings for an enrollment of 406,880, 
and 7,624 one-room schools, has increased its enrollment only 2 per 
cent and at the same time increased the number of buildings by 6.7 
per cent. Forty-three per cent of the average daily attendance is at 
one-room schools, and 58 per cent of the teaching corps is necessary 
to supply them. Here is an indication of a great many small groups 
of children and of the amount of consolidating necessary to be done. 

Massachusetts, with 2,956 school buildings for 623,586 enrolled 
pupils, and less than 4 per cent of the daily attendance or the teach¬ 
ing corps in one-room schools, is certainly highly centralized. 

New Jersey reports few consolidated schools, but the State uses 
2,106 school buildings for an enrollment of 594,780, has increased its 
enrollment by 38.3 per cent in a decade, at the same time increased 
the number of buildings by over 1 per cent, and decreased the one- 
room schools by 28 per cent. There is now only 3.2 per cent of the 
daily attendance in one-room schools and 2.8 per cent of the teach¬ 
ing force engaged in them. This argues much centralization and a 
continued tendency along that line. The map of the State on page 
76 is a graphic representation by counties of this condition. 

Note in columns 10, 11, and 12 that decade, comparisons for the 
number of one-room schools may be made for 32 States. These 
32 States reported 151,645 one-room schools in 1910 and 134,010 in 
1920, a decrease of 17,635, or 11.6 per cent in the decade. 


PRESENT STATUS OF CONSOLIDATION. 


49 


Six of the thirty-two States—Colorado, Idaho, New York, South 
Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin—show a total increase of 1,505 
one-room schools. Idaho, Wisconsin, and South Dakota are still 
in process of settlement and new schools have been established for 
new communities. The first two of these are not actively furthering 
consolidation. In South Dakota, laws and policies definitely fav¬ 
orable to consolidation came about late in the decade. The increase 
in Colorado is in part due to new settlement and in part to the fact 
that the consolidation campaign in the State has been carried on by 
the College of Agriculture. Some counties have adopted it. Others 
have not. The State department has not furthered it. There has 
been no concerted policy for consolidation in New York. The work 
in Tennessee began about the close of the decade. 

The other 26 States for which comparative data are available 
effected a decrease in one-room schools amounting to 19,140. Some 
of this is due to a natural growth, and consequent change of classifi¬ 
cation. Small schools have added to their enrollment until it became 
necessary to employ two or three teachers, and such schools have 
moved out of the one-room or one-teacher class. The greater part of 
it was brought about by consolidation. Alabama, Indiana, Ken¬ 
tucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Caro¬ 
lina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, 11 States that have been 
conducting extended consolidation campaigns or have definite poli¬ 
cies favoring it, account for 15,449, or four-fifths of the decrease. 
Missouri, North Dakota, Kansas, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania add 
1,705 more to the list of decreases, and here also the lessening num¬ 
ber of one-room schools is unquestionably almost wholly due to 
consolidation. In the other States that show reductions a consider¬ 
able amount is known to have been brought by consolidation. 

Of the 16 States for which decade comparisons in number of one- 
room schools can not be made, Iowa and New Hampshire used fewer 
school buildings by 1,185 and 561, respectively, in 1920 than were 
used for approximately the same enrollment in 1910. Neither State 
made material enrollment gain in the 10 years. In Massachusetts 
for the same period an enrollment increase of 87,717, or 16.3 per 
cent, was met by a reduction of buildings of 1,370, or 31.6 per cent, 
while in Utah the enrollment increase, 25,795, or 28 per cent, called 
for a building decrease of 9, or 1.3 per cent. Iowa and Utah are 
actively consolidating schools. In New Hampshire and Massachu¬ 
setts centralization has been going on for a long period of years. 
If the figures could be had, they would certainly show that the one- 
room school is disappearing in Massachusetts, Iowa, and Utah, and 
probably in New Hampshire. 


50 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


There remain 12 States to be considered in connection with the 
one-room school. Six of these, Arizona, California, Montana, New 
Mexico, Oregon, and Wyoming, have been developing new areas 
and report enrollment increases ranging from 27 per cent in Oregon 
to 144 per cent in Arizona. They have also increased the number 
of school buildings in percentages ranging from 25 to 203. Un¬ 
doubtedly the number of little schools in these States increased in 
the decade 1910 to 1920, not because of decentralization but in 
response to a definite need for schools in areas that could not be 
served by existing schools. In Oklahoma a definite campaign for 
consolidation has been carried on, and it has lessened the number of 
school buildings that would otherwise have been built in the process 
of the States’ growth. 

Arkansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Nevada made en¬ 
rollment gains ranging from 10.8 per cent in Nebraska to 38.3 per 
cent in Nevada, and these were met by gains in the number of 
buildings from 3.9 per cent in Michigan to 7.4 per cent in Arkansas, 
a fair indication that the number of one-room schools in these States 
increased very little or not at all during the decade. 

The statistical data regarding one-room schools may be sum¬ 
marized as follows: 

1. Decade comparisons may be made for 32 of the 48 States. 

(a) Twenty-six of those for which comparisons may be made 
report a decrease of 19,140 one-room schools, or 15 per cent. 
Most of this decrease is due to consolidation. 

(b) Six States report an increase of 1,505 one-room schools, 
or 5.6 per cent. This is due partly to new settlement and partly 
because consolidation has not been a definite policy. 

2. Of the 16 States for which decade comparisons may not be 
made— 

(a) Four have lessened the number of school buildings, 
although school enrollment increased at the same time. In all 
four, consolidation or centralization are definite policies. 

(b) Five States report enrollment gains of from 10.8 per 
cent to 38.3 per cent, with building gains of 3.9 per cent to 
7.4 per cent, a fair indication that the number of one-room 
schools made little if any increase during the decade. 

(c) Seven States in process of developing new areas report 
enrollment increases of from 27 per cent to 144 per cent and 
gains in number of buildings from 20 per cent to 203. The 
number of one-room schools in these States probably increased 
during the decade but not because of a tendency toward de¬ 
centralization. 


PRESENT STATUS OP CONSOLIDATION. 


51 


3. It is regrettable that there are not complete data for column 13. 
The per cent of average daily attendance of the State that is in the 
very small schools is one of the valuable items in determining school 
centralization. 




Table 1 .—School buildings and schools. 


52 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


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54 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


The direct measure .—On page 56 there is an attempt to give an 
absolute, direct measure of the amount of school consolidation by 
States for the United States. Column 2 is of historical interest and 
may be used in connection with the historical sketch. Moreover, it 
indicates the number of years that consolidation has been going on 
in any State. 

Column 3 gives the total number of consolidated schools as 11,890, 
using the number 126 for Massachusetts. While this is the best figure 
obtainable for all the States at present, it is a very inadequate one, and 
some of its limitations and inaccuracies should be well understood. 

For some States it includes considerable numbers of weak two and 
three teacher schools that, although formed by uniting smaller 
schools, are not the strong graded schools expected as a result of 
consolidation. This is true of the data for Georgia. In the figures 
for Alabama there are 102 two-room schools; those for Arkansas 
include 60 two-teacher and 58 three-teacher schools. From Lou¬ 
isiana 293 of the consolidations reported are two-teacher schools. 
Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wash¬ 
ington, and West Virginia include small two-teacher schools in their 
reports. Massachusetts reports 2,169 consolidated schools, counting 
all those of two or more rooms as consolidations. 

In other States the interpretation is less liberal and the showing 
in number of consolidated schools comparatively smaller. The 
data given by the State Agricultural College of Colorado include 
only those schools that come within a rather exacting definition 
of consolidation and exclude a large number of two or more teacher 
schools of the kind reported by Massachusetts. Data from Missis¬ 
sippi are for only those consolidated schools that furnish transporta¬ 
tion. This restriction, applied in no other State, lessens the num¬ 
ber reported from Mississippi. The total of 258 consolidated schools 
in Kentucky leaves out of consideration 401 union two-teacher 
schools such as would be counted in many other States. 

Figures are given for only two of the New England States, Mas¬ 
sachusetts and Maine. In the former there are 126 towns of less 
than 10,000 inhabitants that have most of the schools in the town con¬ 
solidated. To accept this number is to leave out most of the cen¬ 
tralization that has taken place in the densely populated sections of 
the State. In the latter only 23 of the 117 schools reported are com¬ 
plete consolidations both as to grades and territory. The other 94 
are partial. The total does not include 53 urban communities in 
which there are schools serving rural sections and representing con¬ 
solidation to a greater or less extent. 

Of the other fojir New England States, Connecticut has 6 towns 
in which all of the schools have been centralized in one district, 58 
towns that transport pupils from small one-room schools that have 


PRESENT STATUS OF CONSOLIDATION. 


55 


been closed to larger one and two room schools, and 63 towns in 
which there is some form of partial consolidation. Besides hav¬ 
ing formed its city systems by consolidation, Rhode Island has 
been consolidating small schools since 1898 and furthering the move¬ 
ment by State aid, but the number of consolidations effected is not 
available. Neither New Hampshire nor Vermont reports consolidated 
schools, though in both States there are central schools serving much 
or all of the town, and large amounts are spent for transportation. 

The figure of 92 for New Jersey is no proper indication of the 
highly centralized school system of the State. For all of New 
England, New Jersey, and Michigan, consolidation is more ade¬ 
quately expressed in terms of towns rather than schools. 

Florida and North Carolina are not reported. The records for 
consolidation have not been kept. In both States schools have been 
uniting for many years, and there are consolidated schools of the finer 
types in both. Utah has adopted a county district system, and for pur¬ 
poses of administration the schools are grouped in 40 units of control. 

Other factors make the figures of column 3 incomparable and the 
total unreliable. Of the 14 schools reported for Delaware, 13 are 
special districts named in the law of 1919. They are more or less 
independent of the general State system and are, in a sense, develop¬ 
ing city systems. Similar districts in Connecticut are not returned 
as consolidations. Minnesota reports include only those schools 
that receive State aid, among them districts of 12 sections or more 
not the result of a union. The figures for Missouri are for those 
schools, governed by six directors, that are outside of incorporated 
cities, towns, and villages. Data for Ohio are estimated and are for 
centralized and consolidated schools, as the words are applied with 
special meanings in that State. In the 262 schools credited to Okla¬ 
homa there are 54 union graded districts and 24 centralized districts 
not furnishing transportation. The number for Pennsylvania ap¬ 
plies only to those schools formed in very recent years. The union 
high schools of California and other States and the township high 
schools of Illinois are not included. 

Three other items in the positive estimate of consolidation are 
given in Table 2. They are the number of pupils enrolled in con¬ 
solidated schools, the number of teachers employed in them, and the 
value of the school property. In each case the percentage relation 
to the total for the State is shown. It is regrettable that these 
data can not be secured for more of the States. The total of nearly 
390,000 pupils enrolled in the consolidated schools of 11 States, ap¬ 
proximately one-tenth of their total enrollment, is somewhat indic¬ 
ative of the strength of this kind of school. The teachers in the 
consolidated schools of the 11 States reporting number 11,115 or 
7.3 per cent of total teaching corps in those States. 


56 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION 


Table 2. —Consolidated schools. 


States. 

Date 
of first 
consoli¬ 
dation 
law or 
school. 

Consoli¬ 

dated 

schools. 

Per 
cent of 
total 
num¬ 
ber of 
schools. 

Districts 
(D) or 
schools 
(S) dis¬ 
continued 
by con¬ 
solidation. 

Pupils 
enrolled 
in con¬ 
solidated 
schools. 

Per 

cent 

of 

State 

en¬ 

roll¬ 

ment. 

Teach¬ 
ers em¬ 
ployed 
in 

consoli¬ 

dated 

schools. 

Per 

cent 

of 

State 

teach¬ 

ing 

corps. 

Value of 
consoli¬ 
dated 
school 
property. 

Per 

cent 

of 

State 

school 

prop¬ 

erty. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

Continental 











United States_ 


11,890 



389,783 

i 9.3 

i11.106 

17.3 













Alabama.. 

1910 

328 

4.0 


37,000 

6.5 





Arizona..... 

1907 

29 

1.8 








Arkansas. 

1911 

170 

2.5 




2 600 

5.7 

$1,151,200 

7.4 

California. 

1901 

59 

.8 








Colorado. 

1909 

8 146 

4.2 

‘ S 425 

8 29,000 

13.1 

8 1,078 

15.4 

86,003,671 

24.9 

Connecticut. 

1839 










Delaware.... 

1861 

14 

2.9 

S 26 

6,387 

19.1 

263 

21.2 

1,050,000 


Florida. 

4 1889 









Georgia. 

1911 

315 

3.7 


8 18,122 

2.6 

631 

3.9 



Idaho. 

1900 

41 

2.2 







Illinois. 

1905 

78 

.5 








Indiana. 

1873 

1 040 

14. 4 








Iowa. 

1873 

'288 

2.2 


8 68,619 

13.3 





Kansas. 

1896 

118 

1.2 

« D 270 

s 11,839 

8 2.9 

8 590 

8 3.5 



Kentucky. 

1908 

258 

3.1 







Louisiana. 

1902 

7 808 

22.0 


7 107,731 

30.4 

3,538 

38.1 



Maine. 

1854 

117 

2.4 






Maryland. 

1904 

« 180 

7.4 








Massachusetts... 

1838 

/ »126 


l 









\!°2,i69 

62.3 

1 . 







Michigan. 

1843 

211 

2.3 








Minnesota. 

1901 

255 

2.7 








Mississippi. 

1910 

470 

6.5 


61,821 

10.9 

2,019 

17.0 



Missouri. 

1901 

168 

1.6 


28,368 

4. 2 

905 

4.2 



Montana. 

1913 

69 

1.8 


12,127 

9.5 

491 

7.9 



Nebraska. 

1889 

101 

1.3 








Nevada. 

1913 

15 

4.4 








N ew Hampshire... 

u 1870 










New Jersey. 

1886 

92 

3.7 








New Mexico. 

1907 

129 

9.0 








New York. 

1853 

354 

2.7 

6 D 830 





. 


North Carolina.... 

1885 



D 157 







North Dakota. 

1899 

457 

8.9 








Ohio. 

1846 

800 

5.3 








Oklahoma. 

1903 

262 

3.3 








Oregon. 

1903 

61 

2.4 








Pennsylvania. 

1901 

137 

.8 

S 503 



682 

1.5 



Rhode Island. 

1898 










South Carolina.... 

1898 

2 300 

6.2 

/ D 288 

} . 






South Dakota.... 

1913 

139 

2.3 

\ S 323 

' 8,778 

5.9 

288 

3.6 

1,685,896 

9.6 

Tennessee. 

1903 

309 

4.2 






Texas. 

1893 

635 

5.7 








Utah. 

1896 










Vermont. 

u 1872 










Virginia. 

1903 

»258 

3.8 








Washington. 

1890 

274 

7.7 








West Virginia. 

1908 

145 

2.1 








Wisconsin. 

18.56 

80 

.9 






2,450,000 

5.8 

Wyoming. 

1913 

11 

.7 



















1 Based on returns from 11 States. 

2 Estimated.. 

* Data for 1921. 

4 Giving county boards power to locate schools. 

6 In State-aided schools only. 

6 Number of districts affected. 

7 Data for 1922. 
s Data for 1918. 

9 Towns of less than 10,000 population having most of the schools consolidated. 

10 Buildings of two or more rooms. 

n Permissive adoption of town system. Note p. 11. 






































































































































PRESENT STATUS OF CONSOLIDATION. 


57 


Costs of transportation .—In Table 3, on page 58, are given data on 
transportation of pupils. It must be understood at once that the 
figures given are inclusive, as far as they could be obtained, of all 
transportation of children to and from school if paid for from pub¬ 
lic funds. No attempt has been made to limit them to the schools 
classed as consolidated. 

Columns 2, 3, and 4 are of historical interest. It is significant that 
by 1910 only 14 States were reporting amounts spent for transporta¬ 
tion as a separate item of expenditure and that in 1920 eight States 
had not as yet made that segregation in their financial statements. 

In column 5 are given the amounts spent for transportation by 40 
States in 1920. If the total for all the States could be given, it would 
undoubtedly amount to nearly fifteen millions of dollars. Indiana is 
spending nearly two millions annually; Ohio and Iowa each much 
more than one million; and Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Dakota, 
and New Jersey, in the order named, are reaching well up toward the 
one million mark. 

The per cent that the amount spent for transportation is of the 
current expense of the schools is shown in column 6. For the 40 
States reporting, it is 1.8 per cent. For the individual States it 
ranges from 0.02 of 1 per cent in Oregon to 7 per cent in North 
Dakota. It would seem that expenditures for transportation that 
amount to more than 7 or 8 per cent of the total running expense of 
the schools should be analyzed very carefully by school officers. It 
is possible for this comparatively new school facility to assume an 
undue importance and absorb too great a part of the school funds. 

In columns 7 and 8 are given the numbers of children transported 
in each of 31 States and the relation they bear to the average daily 
attendance in the State. The total of 356,401 is certainly far short 
of the actual figure, if it were known. Probably an estimate of half 
a million children transported in 1919-20 is not far wrong. 

Columns 9 and 10 are lines of statistical data that would be very 
valuable, especially the latter. Figures for the cost of transporta¬ 
tion in segregated schools, districts, and counties are now being kept 
rather widely and are rapidly being made public. Data for entire 
States are few and probably rather unreliable. Unfortunately, much 
of the data on the cost of transportation does not include one factor, 
that of distance, which is absolutely necessary for correct computa¬ 
tion. Some unit which involves the three factors, number of chil¬ 
dren, time, and distance, such as cost per child per mile per day. must 
be adopted if accurate estimates are to be made. 


58 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION, 


Table 3 .—Transportation of pupils. 


States. 


1 


Continental 
United States. 

Alabama. 

Arizona. 

Arkansas. 

California. 

Colorado. 

Connecticut. 

Delaware. 

Florida. 

Georgia. 

Idaho. 

Illinois. 

Indiana. 

Iowa. 

Kansas. 

Kentucky. 

Louisiana. 

Maine. 

Maryland. 

Massachusetts. 

Michigan. 

Minnesota. 

Mississippi. 

Missouri. 

Montana. 

Nebraska. 

Nevada. 

New Hampshire_ 

New Jersey. 

New Mexico. 

New York. 

North Carolina. 

North Dakota. 

Ohio. 

Oklahoma. 

Oregon. 

Pennsylvania. 

Rhode Island. 

South Carolina. 

South Dakota. 

Tennessee. 

Texas. 

Utah. 

Vermont. 

Virginia.. 

Washington. 

West Virginia.. 

Wisconsin.. 

Wyoming.. 


Date 
of first 
trans¬ 
porta¬ 
tion 
law. 

Date 
of first 
avail¬ 
able 
data on 
amount 
spent 
for 

trans¬ 

porta¬ 

tion. 

First 

reported 

amount 

spent 

for 

trans¬ 

porta¬ 

tion. 

Amount 
spent for 
transpor¬ 
tation in 
1920. 

Per 
cent of 
total 
current 
expense 
of the 
schools. 

Num¬ 
ber of 
children 
trans¬ 
ported, 
1920. 

Per 
cent of 
the 

average 
daily 
attend¬ 
ance of 
the 
State. 

Per 
cent of 
total 
enroll¬ 
ment 
in con¬ 
soli¬ 
dated 
schools. 

Cost of 
transpor¬ 
tation 
per pupil 
per year. 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 




$14,514,544 

7 1.8 

356,401 

2 5.6 










8 1915 

4 1918 

$9,770 

171,925 

2.2 

7,058 

1.9 

19 

9 $3.33 

1912 









1911 





1,032 

.3 



1901 

1918 

272,782 

630,797 

1.6 




1909 




Mil ,400 

7.5 

39.3 


1893 

1898 

11,416 

314,340 

2.2 

6,030 

2.9 



1919 

1920 

68, 401 

71,444 

4.6 




8 1S89 

1901 

3; 225 

216; 691 

3.6 

7,966 

4.8 


27.20 

1911 

1911 

19,339 

69,477 

.8 

9,499 

2.03 

52.4 

12.40 

1913 

1914 

35,000 

301,345 

4.5 

1,526 

1.8 



1911 

1912 

16,987 

163,254 

.2 





9 1899 

1904 

79 590 

l,92i; 035 

6.6 

60, i42 

13.1 



1897 

1907 

25,758 

1,354,051 

4.1 

7 34,743 

8.5 

50.6 


1899 





8 4,000 

1.3 

33.7 

79 .16-0.23 

1912 

1914 

it>, 222 

95,785 

1.3 



79 .10- . 19 

» 1916 

1909 

45,808 

471,059 

5.1 

18,229 

7.1 

16.9 

26.00 

1880 

1896 

47,739 

296,651 

4.9 

8,889 

7.6 


33.37 

1904 

1905 

72 508 

64, 734 

.8 





1869 

1889 

22,118 

858,840 

2.1 

78 25,935 

5.0 


7 ». 20- . 24 

1903 

1914 

49,497 

155,116 

.4 





1901 

1904 

4,258 

976,475 

3.4 

7 20,4.50 

5.1 



1910 

1911 

5 345 

246;078 

5.5 

30,772 

11.8 

49.7 

5 3.18 

1907 









1903 

1914 

26,636 

297,796 

2.9 

3,293 

3.5 

27.1 

7# . 33 

1897 

1920 


9 127,500 

.7 

7 3,517 

1.5 



1915 

1920 


34,115 

2.8 





1885 

1906 

38,527 

195,127 

5.3 





1895 

1901 

A 421 

749, 895 

2.1 

21,727 

4.5 



■ 1 2 * 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1917 

1918 

20,855 

136,881 

3.8 

5,119 

8.6 



1S96 

1913 

65'445 

470,485 

.4 





1911 




7,936 

1.6 



1899 

1906 

28,896 

876,876 

7.0 

21,153 

16.4 



1894 

1915 

473,470 

1,651,157 

2.9 





1905 

1920 

79 228,397 

1.2 

8,420 

2.3 



1903 

1920 


2,286 

.02 

7 2,029 

1.4 


>0.35 

1897 

1913 

425 

83,962 

.1 

7 4,520 

.35 



1918 

1918 

21,633 

32,490 

.7 




78 1912 

1914 

11,927 

77 25, 121 

.4 

77 1,723 

.51 


77 13.29 

1899 

1913 

54,399 

211,947 

2.3 

2,388 

2.4 

27 


1913 

1915 

18,920 

88,883 

1.4 

5,870 

1.2 


5 1.00-9.00 

78 1915 

1917 

29,631 

70,088 

.2 

2,683 

.3 



79 1905 

1916 

93,091 

170; 286 

2.7 

5,000 

5.1 



1876 

1893 

9,133 

22S; 532 

6.5 

4', 467 

8.8 



1903 

1906 

2,102 

153; 7% 

1.5 

7 8,885 

2.5 



1901 

20 1911 

29 44,523 





1908 









1S97 

1912 

36,468 

225,699 

.9 





27 1919 

1918 

29,255 

74,128 

2.3 






1 Computed on returns of 40 States. 

2 Computed on returns from 31 States. 

> Permitted in Mobile County at an earlier date. 

4 Mobile County only. 

5 Per month. 

6 Estimated. 

7 Data for 1921. 

8 Assumed in powers of county boards. 

9 Transportation was carried on under general 
powers of township boards as early as 1888. 

10 Per day. 

11 Transportation also dates to 1902 under gen¬ 
eral powers of parish boards. 


12 Baltimore County. 

18 Data for 1919. 

14 Not a specific authorization. County boards 
created. 

15 Special report for 98 schools. 

16 Permitting State aid for transportation. 

17 Data for 1918. 

18 A law of 1905 was also construed as permitting 
transportation. 

19 In powers of county district board. 

20 Special report. 

21 Not specific; assumed in powers of district 
board. 


























































































































Chapter III. 

A STATEMENT OF CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTA¬ 
TION IN EACH STATE. 


A statement by States .—There follows a statement of consolida¬ 
tion in each of the States. They are divided into groups as follows: 

1. Those in which the town or township unit has been a con¬ 
siderable factor in consolidation. These include New England, 
Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, and North Dakota. 

2. Those in which the county as a unit is a considerable factor in 
bringing about consolidation. They are Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, 
North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, 
Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and New Mexico. 

3. Those States in which consolidation is being effected through a 
district system. They are Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, 
Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin, South Carolina, 
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Wash¬ 
ington, and West Virginia. 

4. States that have relatively little consolidation. They are New 
York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. 

5. States that have so provided for secondary education as to 
make the need for consolidation of elementary schools less keenly 
felt. They are Illinois and California. 

6. Consolidation under the State system of Delaware. 

STATES IN WHICH THE TOWN OR TOWNSHIP SYSTEM HAS BEEN 
A CONSIDERABLE FACTOR IN CONSOLIDATION. 

New England .—The schools of the southern portion of New 
England are rather highly centralized, but the large rural consoli¬ 
dated school of the kind found in the fiddle and Western States is 
not common here. Consolidation in New England has come through 
the growth of city systems, the change from the district to the 
town system, the merging of special districts with towns, the wider 
use of free conveyance of pupils, the establishment of central high 
schools, State aid in payment of tuition for nonresident high-school 
pupils, and professional supervision for towns or unions of towns. 
For this section of the United States consolidation can not be ex¬ 
pressed in terms of the number of consolidated schools. 


59 



60 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Maine. —There are 109 towns in the State in which there are no urban 
communities and in which rural schools are located which may be properly 
termed consolidated schools. Some of these have no more facilities or equip¬ 
ment than the ordinary village school. Many are housed in buildings not 
adequate to serve a thoroughly modern type of consolidated school, but un¬ 
doubtedly all provide facilities and a type of education superior to those of the 
one-teacher schools which they have absorbed. 

In many cases the children from the outlying sections are in a minority, but 
In all cases such children are transported to the schools represented on the list. 
Wherever secondary school privileges are offered the high school serves the 
entire town. 

In some instances the elementary and secondary schools are not housed in 
the same building, but clearly represent a single organization. While the 
consolidation has been accomplished, the single plant has not been constructed 
or may not be necessary. 

The schools may be divided into five groups as follows: 

1. Two or three teacher elementary schools serving a part of the town. In 
this group there are 17 schools. 

2. Elementary schools of three teachers and more serving a large part of 
the entire town, of which there are 15. 

3. Schools offering both elementary and secondary instruction serving part 
of the town for the former and all of the town for the latter. Of these there 
are 62. 

4. Elementary schools serving the entire town—representing complete con¬ 
solidation of elementary schools. Of these there are 10. 

5. Schools offering both elementary and secondary instruction serving the 
entire town—representing complete consolidation, both elementary and second¬ 
ary. Of these there are 13. 

There are also 53 urban communities, in practically all of which there are 
schools which also are serving rural sections and represent consolidation to a 
greater or less extent. 1 

The number of one-room schools decreased in the 10-year period, 
1912-1922, from 2,468 to 2,200. The number of pupils transported 
was increased from 7,373, at a cost of $149,732, to 9,688, at a cost of 
$359,556. It is estimated that in Maine more than 500 one-teacher 
rural schools might be abandoned without causing inconvenience or 
hardship to their patrons, and with good conveyance the children 
could be given greatly improved school facilities. 

New Hampshire. —New Hampshire reports no consolidated schools, 
and there is no law on its statute books providing for such schools 
under that definite name, but the State in common with the rest of 
New England has made marked progress in the past 50 years toward 
fewer and larger school units. The amount spent for transportation 
of pupils increased from $38,527 in 1906 to $195,127 in 1920. 

Vermont. —Vermont is in the unusual condition, at least in the 
United States, of being a State that has increased in population very 
little in the past 70 years. The figures for population and school 
enrollment b}^ decades are: 

1 “ Consolidation of Schools in Maine and Connecticut.” U. S. Bu. of Educ., Rural 
School Leaflet No. 4, pp. 5-6. 



A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


61 


School 

Year. Population. enrollment. 

1850- 314,120 _ 

1860- 315, 098 73, 591 

1870_ 330,551 66,310 

1880- 332,286 75,238 

1890 - 332,422 65,608 

1900111- 343,641 65,964 

1910- 355,956 66,615 

1920_ 352,428 61,785 


If there had been any marked tendency to bring the children to¬ 
gether in larger groups for educational purposes, it would be shown 
in the data for number of schools and school buildings maintained 
during the period. The decrease in schools has been 415 in 60 years, 
with an almost corresponding reduction in the number of children 
enrolled. Transportation of pupils has increased rapidly since 1893, 
as shown by the following table, but it has been largely to existing 
schools and is only a slight measure of consolidation: 


Amount spent 
Pupils for trans- 

Year. conveyed. portation. 

1893_ 853 $9,133 

1895___ 921 12, 941 

1900 _ 2,062 26,492 

1905_ 2,829 45,361 

1910_ 4,218 92,019 

1915_ 4,623 128,335 

1920 _2_ 4,467 228,532 


In 1921 the State commissioner reported: 

Vermont geographically does not lend itself to the matter of consolidation of 
schools; a mountain surface, widely scattered farms, difficult roads, and severe 
winter climate make it for the most part really obligatory to have single rural 
schools. 

The past summer only one town, Essex Center, so far as I know, has taken 
any steps to extend its plan of consolidation. It had done so by closing three 
rural schools and providing transportation, so that at present all children in the 
town with the exception of those in one. small remote district are being trans¬ 
ported to a central village school. In additiop to Essex Center, the following 
towns have consolidated their schools either entirely or to a very large degree: 
Middletown Springs, Johnson, Fairfax, and Montpelier. 

Massachusetts .—A special study was made to determine the extent 
of consolidation in the State as of January, 1919. There are 354 
towns and cities. Thirty-eight towns had only one-teacher schools. 
One hundred and fifty-two other towns with less than 5,000 popula¬ 
tion had one or more one-room buildings. In all, there were 785 one- 
teacher schools, enrolling about 15,600 pupils. About 96 per cent of 
52571°—23-5 


















62 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


the teachers and 97 per cent of the pupils were in schools of two or 
more rooms. The study reports: 

Consolidation of schools in towns of less than 10,000 population, and having 

high schools. 1 



Per cent. 


1. Towns having all pupils assembled in the center or the principal village of the town 
Towns having all pupils both high and elementary assembled in— 

One school building. 8 

Two school buildings, a high and an elementary school building.... 11 

. , Three or more buildings. 26 

2. Towns resembling 1 (above), but having from one to three outlying one-teacher 

schools.. 

3. Towns having schools located in various parts of the town, but having all ele¬ 

mentary school pupils attending schools of two or more rooms. 

4. Towns like 3 (above), but having one outlying one-teacher school.. 

5. Towns having schools located in various parts of the town, but having a portion of 

the pupils attending schools of two or more rooms. 


28.3 


20.0 

18.2 

4.0 

29.0 


1 Returns from special inquiry, Jan. 1,1919; 159 towns reporting. 


Out of the 159 towns reporting in the above groups, 65 towns, or 40.9 per cent, 
have one or more of the upper elementary grades centralized in one building, as 


follows: 

Number of towns having centralized— 

Four upper grades_ 22 

Three upper grades_ 18 

Two upper grades_ 26 

One upper grade_ 4 


Consolidation of schools in towns of less than 10,000 population and not having 

high schools. 1 



Number. 

Per cent. 

1. Towns having all elementary school pupils assembled in the center or the prin¬ 
cipal village of the town. 

26 

22.0 

21.1 

Towns having all pupils assembled in- 

fa) One building of one room. 6 

(6) One building of two or more rooms. 19 

(c) Two or more buildings. 1 

2. Towns like 1 (above), but having one to three outlying 1-teacher schools. 

25 

3. Towns having schools located in various parts of the town, but having all ele¬ 
mentary school pupils attending schools of two or more rooms. 

7 

5.9 

4. Towns having schools located in various parts of the town, but having a portion of 
the pupils attending schools of two or more rooms. 

24 

20.3 

5. Towns in addition tol (a) (above), having allelementary school pupils attending 
one-teacher schools..... 

36 

30.5 



1 Returns from special inquiry, Jan. 1,1919,118 towns reporting. 

Out of the 118 towns reporting in the above groups, 28 towns, or 23.7 per cent, 
have one or more of the upper elementary grades centralized in one building, 
as follows: 

Number of towns having centralized— 

Four upper grades__ 22 

Three upper grades_ 5 

Two upper grades 
One upper grade- 


1 
































A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


63 


From the tables above it appears that 71, or about one-fourth of all towns 
reporting, have all the schools consolidated at the center, or in the principal 
village. If to this number are added the 56 towns having all schools consoli¬ 
dated in the central village, with the exception of from one to three outlying 
one-teacher schools, it appears that approximately one-lialf the Massachusetts 
towns of less than 10,000 population have consolidated all, or nearly all, schools 
at the center, or in the principal village. 

All the schools of 36 other towns are of two or more rooms, but located in 
various parts of the town rather than in the principal village. Eight others 
resemble this type of town but have from one to three outlying one-teacher 
schools in buildings of two or more rooms. 

It appears that in Massachusetts towns of less than 10,000 population a 
substantial proportion of the consolidated schools are located in villages and 
that comparatively few are in the open country. Consolidation in the village is 
for a great many towns the only practicable plan. The best roads lead to the 
village. Trolley lines lead there. The post office, banks, stores, churches, halls 
of fraternal orders are there. In short, the village is the capital of the town, 
and a larger proportion of the inhabitants of most towns live in the village 
than in the outlying areas. In view of these conditions the village becomes the 
logical place for the high school, junior high school, central grammar school, 
and central elementary school, if such grades are consolidated. 

It seems very doubtful whether under the county or any other system of 
school control the number of open-country consolidated schools would be greatly 
increased in this State. The population in the farming areas outside the vil¬ 
lages is usually very sparse. These adjoining areas are not often connected 
by good roads, except by way of the village, and to assemble enough pupils in 
such localities to form strong open-country consolidated schools would be found 
in most cases too expensive and otherwise impracticable. 1 


Groivth of transportation in Massachusetts by decades. 



1889 

1900 

1910 

1914 

1917 

1920 

Number of towns transporting pupils. 

Total amount spent for transportation.... 
Amount spent lor transportation of high- 
school pupils by towns that do not 
maintain high schools. 

1104 
i $22,118 

252 

$141,754 

317 

$310,422 


i $56,066 

335 

$857,064 

$87,141 

$50,396 

85 

2,054 

Reimbursement from the State for such 
tran sportation. 




1 $19,188 

* 59 

i 937 

Number of towns receiving reimburse- 
ment. 





Number of pupils transported for which 
£t.at,p. rpim nurspxi towns. 











1 Date first reported. 


Of the total amount spent for transportation, about three-fourths 
is used to pay for the conveyance of elementary pupils within the 
towns, one-eighth for high-school pupils within the towns, a little 
more than one-tenth for conveying pupils to high schools in other 
towns, and the remainder for conveying elementary pupils to schools 
in other towns. 

1 Cousolidation of Schools and Transportation of Pupils at Public Expense in Massa¬ 
chusetts, State Dept, of Educ., Bui. No. 6, pp. 13-15. 























64 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Connecticut. —Consolidation in Connecticut lias developed through 
the growth of closely built cities and towns from scattered com¬ 
munities, the bringing together of scattered open-country schools, 
and the grouping of the seventh and eighth grades in central districts. 

The number of one-room schools in 1860 was 1,486; in 1886, 1,150; in 
1920, 715, a steady decrease, totaling 52 per cent. This measures the tendency 
toward elimination of (a) weak one-room schools to form larger and better 
ones and (6) to group one-room schools to form two and three room schools. 

The amount spent for transportation in Connecticut in 1899 was $8,668.28; 
in 1920, $290,719.46. This will measure the progress of these towns in the 
centralization of schools, particularly in view of the fact that these figures 
exclude high-school transportation and that the State has at no time given 
direct financial aid toward the transportation of pupils in elementary schools. 

The number of pupils transported in 1899 was 533; in 1920, 6.030, an in¬ 
crease of 1,031 per cent, whereas the school registration in that time increased 
but 73 per cent. 

These figures will show that the increase in pupils transported is far ahead 
of the natural increase in the district and again indicates the progress of these 
towns toward centralization of schools. 

Of the 80 towns in the State with a population of 2,000 or less, only 7 neither 
transport any pupils nor have reduced the number of schools since 1860. 

It can be seen from the foregoing that centralization has been continuous 
and is constantly increasing, accelerated by excellent facilities for ti'ansporta- 
tion, which steadily are being extended. The total steam railway mileage is 
1,004; trolley, 828; State roads, 1,481; automobiles, one car for each 11 persons, 
according to 1921 registration. 

Towns which have consolidation may be classified as follows: 

1. Complete consolidation. Towns in which all of the schools have been 
centralized in one district. (6 towns.) 

2. Consolidation of one and two room schools. Towns having at the present 
time only one and two room schools and which transport pupils from districts 
where smaller one-room schools have been closed. (58 towns.) 

3. Grade consolidation in which pupils from the two upper grades are 
brought together into one or at the most two districts of the town. (25 towns.) 

4. Towns having partial or mixed consolidation in which a central residential 
or business district has absorbed the small schools of the vicinity and the 
upper grades of the remote sections. Such towns usually have a local high 
school to which pupils from some near-by towns are transported. (38 towns.) 

Transportation facilities: 

1. The most common vehicles for transportation are the horse-drawn wagon 
and the trolley. Automobile busses are used in many districts. Their use is 
increasing. 

2. Trolley companies, according to established custom, carry children to and 
from school for one-half regular fare. 

3. Vehicles are not generally owned by the towns but by private individuals. 

4. Transportation routes are usually planned to take children at specified 
points instead of collecting and leaving them at each home. 

5. The average distance each pupil is carried is a little over 4 miles for the 
round trip. 

6. Difficulty in securing suitable persons to transport pupils makes choice by 
competitive bidding impossible in most cases. Arrangements are made by the 
committee on the best practical terms for a school year. 


A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


65 


7. Drivers are not generally under bond. 

8. Drivers are not generally under written contract. 

There has for a long time been a strong tendency toward centralization of 
secondary-school instruction. This has been encouraged by a State grant for 
transportation to approved nonlocal high schools of $20 per student, also by a 
grant reimbursing towns to the amount of $30 toward payment of tuition in 
high schools. The legislature of 1921 has increased the tuition grant to $50 
and transportation allowance to $35. Transportation within the town to local 
high schools is not aided by the State, neither are there grants for towns main¬ 
taining their own high schools. 

In 1899, the total high-school registration for the State as a whole was 7,867; 
in 1920, 27,426, an increase of 248 per cent. Students attending nonlocal high 
schools in 1899 numbered 214; in 1920, 2,655, or more than 10 times increased. 
Disbursements of State aid for liigh-school transportation in 1899 amounted to 
$3,584.09; in 1920 to $36,091.76, an increase of 907 per cent. 

The success attending the centralization of upper grades in the 25 towns 
where this is done will, it is believed, create a demand for the development of 
local schools for higher education; something midway between the sixth year 
of the elementary school and the high school. Such an organization would 
suggest the junior high-school plan, but the desire to make these “ schools of 
higher grade ” of greatest possible benefit to the home town will probably result 
in a certain amount of specialization. Absolute standardization of such schools, 
as commonly attempted for the traditional high school, will not be acceptable. 
In the next few years, then, a decrease may be expected in the attendance at 
nonlocal high schools.* 


Rhode Island .—There are three types of consolidation in the State: 
Uniting three or more schools to form a graded school of two or 
more departments; uniting an ungraded with a graded school; and 
uniting schools with an average of less than 12 pupils to establish a 
graded school. Under the law of 1898 aid to consolidation has been 
given as follows: 


1899 _ $666 

1900 _1_ 500 

1910_ 1, 880 

1913_ 2,200 


1914 _$2,380 

1915 _ 2,400 

1916 _ 2, 500 

1917 _ 2, 600 


1918 _$2,700 

1919 _ 3,530 

1920 _ 3, 775 

1921 _ 3, 940 


More towns receive aid for the second type of consolidation than 
for the first. 


The State office reports: 

There are a few consolidations of the first type. In the town of Charles¬ 
town, Pawcatuck school at Carolina was formed from three mixed schools, has 
three departments and an average number belonging of 97 pupils. 

Town of Gloucester, formed from three mixed schools, two departments, 
average belonging, 37. This school has the grammar department in one build¬ 
ing and the primary in another. Besides this school, Gloucester draws aid on 
three mixed schools consolidated at different times with the Chepachet graded 
school. 


2 Consolidation of Schools in Maine and Connecticut. U. S. Bu. of Educ., Rural 
School Leaflet No. 4, pp. 10-11. 















66 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Town of South Kensington, at Matunuck, from three mixed schools, two 
departments, average belonging, 31. At time of this consolidation a new 
building was provided. Since the formation of the graded school one other 
mixed school has been closed and pupils taken to this school, drawing aid 
under the other provision, under which aid is also given for five other schools 
consolidated with already established schools- 

Summary of consolidation in New England .—Fairly reliable fig¬ 
ures for the number of administrative school units in all New Eng¬ 
land are not obtainable for the years before 1848. The number in 
that year as compared with 1920 is as follows: 


Maine_ 

New Hampshire 

Vermont_ 

Massachusetts-_ 

Connecticut- 

Rhode Island— 


18’,8 

1920 

3,580 

519 

1, 888 

256 

2, 276 

275 

3, 475 

354 

1,663 

173 

332 

39 


Total_— 13, 214 1, 616 

The reduction in units was a little more than seven-eighths. There 
was probably a reduction in the number of school buildings also and, 
taking into consideration the fact that New Hampshire and Rhode 
Island report schoolrooms as schools, a decrease in the number of 
schools as well. Between the dates 1848 and 1920 the enrollment in¬ 
creased from 464,000 to 1,242,221. These figures indicate the cen¬ 
tralization of educational effort and consolidation of schools that 
has taken place in New England in 72 years, most of it through the 
change from the district to the town unit and the return of inde¬ 
pendent districts to the systems of the towns in which they were 
located. 

The accompanying maps of the six New England States, with 
the explanations of the conventional signs used, show by classes 
of towns the degree of centralization in this section. Such graphic 
representations are necessarily somewhat more general than exactly 
accurate in detail. The 1,616 administrative units are roughly 
divided into six groups: 

1. One hundred and seventy-six urban communities with highly 
centralized school systems. These are shown in solid black on the 
maps and are distributed among the States as follows: Maine, 53 
urban school systems; New Hampshire, 12 city systems and 21 special 
districts; Vermont, 3 city districts and 30 independent districts; 
Massachusetts, 38 city systems; Connecticut, 13 city systems; Rhode 
Island, 6 city systems. 

2. Eighty-two units somewhat less centralized than the urban 
systems but very similar to them. These are shown in the heavy 
black diagonal hatch. Their distribution among the States is: 











A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


67 


Maine, 13 complete consolidations for both grades and high school; 
New Hampshire, 19 towns with no one-room schools; Massachusetts, 



MAINE 

LcqancJ 
S3 urban school systems. 

13 complete consolidations, qrade and hiqh school. 

10 Consolidations, complete for the qrodes, no hiqh school 
62 n , ft for hiqh school,partial for qrades. 
15 schools each SZryinq fizarlq an entire torrn 
It small schools each serr/nq a forqe part of one form. 

12 ¥ forms rritti most of the schools one-room 
23/ forms hare only one-room schools. 

Unorganized territory. 


Map 2.—Showing the territory unorganized locally for school purposes, and the degree 
of school centralization in each town of Maine. 


12 towns of over 5,000 population each with no one or two room 
schools; Connecticut, 14 centralized systems; and Khode Island, 24 
centralized systems. 











68 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


NEW TRTA 'MTP/^MTTMTR, 

Lpcjcnd 

Hi )Z Cite/ systems 

Bl 21 Special districts 
H /$ Tory ns rrith no one-room 
schools 

ffl 103 Tomas rrith classified and t 
sem i-c/c/ssifieci schools 
cmd a iso one-room — 
schools 

□ 10/Torrns hare onloj one- 

room schools 

□ 17 Subdirisions not ore/a 

ized for schools 



Map 3.—Showing by towns the degree of school centralization in New Hampshire and 
the few subdivisions of the State not organized locally for school purpose?. 




A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


69 


3. Three hundred and ten towns having large schools that serve all 
or most of the town. The secondary instruction for these towns is 
well centralized; most of the elementary schools are large; there are 



"VEMMIMT 

Lg c/end 

3 Citq districts 
30 lndc.po.nolant districts 
IBTorrns each harinqsome 
schools of more, than 
trro rooms 

65 Tonrns ha vine/ on/q one- 
and trro-room schools 

□ dSTorrns rrith only one- 

room schools 

□ d Subdivisions not onc/anU • 

z d for sc hoots 


Map 4.—Showing by towns the degree of school centralization in Vermont. 


few small schools. They are shown on the maps in the checkerboard 
hatch and the cross hatch. For the separate States, they are: Maine, 
10 consolidations complete for the grades and 62 consolidations com¬ 
plete for the high school, partial for the grades; Massachusetts, 62 












70 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION 



Mai 1 Showing by towns the degree of school centralization in Massachusetts. 





A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


71 


towns of over 5,000 population each with large schools and few one 
and two room schools, and 115 towns with less than 5,000 population 
each maintaining high schools and large elementary schools with few 
one and two room schools; Connecticut, 61 towns in which nearly 
all the schools are of the six-department type. 



4. Four hundred and four towns in which centralization has been 
brought about only to a slight degree. These are shown in light di¬ 
agonal hatch. They are distributed as follows: Maine, 15 schools of 
three or more teachers serving most of a town, and 124 towns with 
most of the schools of the one-room type; New Hampshire, 103 towns 
with classified and semiclassified schools in addition to one-room 




72 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


schools; Vermont, 79 towns, each having some schools of more than 
two rooms; Massachusetts, 54 towns with no high schools and the 
elementary schools mostly one and two room; and Connecticut, 
29 towns with no six-department schools. 

5. One hundred and fifty-two towns having only small schools. 
These towns are shown on the maps in light vertical hatch. There 



Map 7.—Showing by towns the degree of school centralization in Rhode Island. 


are 17 in Maine, 65 in Vermont, 38 in Massachusetts, 26 in Con¬ 
necticut, and 6 in Rhode Island. 

6. Five hundred towns that have only one-room schools. They are 
shown on the maps in white. Maine has 231, New Hampshire 101, 
Vermont 98, Massachusetts 35, Connecticut 32, and Rhode Island has 
3 towns with only ungraded schools. 

There are 17 subdivisions in New Hampshire and 4 in Vermont 
that are not organized locally for school purposes. These and the 


















































A STATEMENT BY STATES. 73 

very large unorganized territory of Maine are shown on the maps in 
white with the heavy black border line. 

Of the 1,616 administrative units, including cities, towns, special 
and independent districts, plantations, gores, and grants, 568 have 
school systems that are centralized in degrees ranging from the town 
which provides a central secondary school to the large city system. 
One thousand forty-eight towns have only small schools, and of 
these 500 have only one-teacher schools. It is evident that large 
areas of New England are still served by the comparatively weak, in¬ 
effective one-room schools. 

Michigan .—In Michigan centralization has been going on, first, 
through the establishment of graded schools in the cities and towns; 
second, the extension of the graded school plan to villages and unions 
of districts; third, the formation of township districts by special 
enactments and the township law applying to the upper peninsula; 
fourth, the general permissive township district act for the State; 
fifth, enactments for partial consolidation by grades in the form of 
rural high schools and county agricultural schools; sixth, provision 
for consolidation of districts by the township board, with the con¬ 
sent of the districts affected; and seventh, consolidation of districts 
for the purpose of forming rural agricultural schools encouraged 
by State aid. 

The accompanying Map 8 shows the per cent of the townships that 
are under a township unit organization or have consolidated schools 
in each county. 

In the upper peninsula most of the schools are under the township 
district system. Iron County, an area of 29 surveyed and 8 partially 
surveyed townships, is organized into 7 townships for school and 
governmental purposes. The board of education of each township 
district has arranged a central school and maintains one or more 
smaller schools at necessary places. The township superintendent 
supervises not only the central school but the rural schools as well. 

Berrien County has made good use of the graded-school law. It 
is educating 12,842 children in schools of more than one room. Ex¬ 
cluding the three cities of the county 6,485 children are in attendance 
at schools of more than one room as against 3,879 in one-room schools. 
The per capita cost, both total and for instruction, is below the aver¬ 
age for the State. 

The effect of these efforts toward centralization is shown in some 
of the statistics for the schools. The number of townships and cities 
reporting has increased only from 1,241 to 1,342 since 1890. The 
number of graded districts first reported as 94 in 1860 was 679 in 
1919. The number of township districts reported first as 8 in 1891 
was 171 in 1919. In the years 1910 to 1919, inclusive, the enrollment 


74 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION 


MICHIGAN 



BARAG< 


•NTONAOOJ 


l^G Feiq l 


LUCEl 


moNl 


[PELT* 


lANTRiMl A- 


kal CRAW • 
KASKA . FOROl 


[ALCON, 


1'Vi [ARENA( 


IASOHI LAKE 


CLARE V/Q 


HURON 


OCEANAI 


TUSCOLA 


SAClNAW 


KENT 


iaklano; 


IaLLEQANH BARRY 


.LIVING I 
STON j 


EATON I f ^ 


, K A A Z L 0 A c|| C ^H 0 UnI JACKSON 


1 ST ‘ i 

’JOSEPH 


iLENAWEEi 


Map 8.—Showing by counties the per cent of townships that are under a township unit 
organization or have consolidated schools. For explanation of the conventional signs 
used, see the opposite page. 





















A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


75 


in graded schools has increased by 46 per cent, while in the ungraded 
schools it has fallen off by 10 per cent. From July 1, 1919, to July 
1, 1920, 28 consolidated schools were formed in the lower peninsula. 
They take the place of 175 one-room schools. 


COUNTIES HAVING: 


New Jersey .—The school system of New Jersey is in many ways 
one of the most highly centralized in the United States. Its educa¬ 
tional progress has been rather steadily in that direction. When 
the Olcott bill became a law there were 1,408 school districts, 791 of 
which enrolled fewer than 25 pupils each. The following year the 
number of districts had been reduced to 374. Of these a number were 
weak districts that maintained their separate identities because they 
were boroughs. 

The number of consolidated schools reported for New Jersey is 
92, but it is necessary to use some general data to determine the full 
extent of consolidation. The table on page 77 shows the trend toward 
consolidation in the State as it is expressed in nine significant items 
for the decade 1910-1920. The increase in school districts is due 
to the formation of new boroughs and municipalities. A law of 
1921 permits any newly created municipality to continue as a part 
of the township school district for educational purposes. It is prob¬ 
able that the number of school districts will in the future increase 
very little, if at all. 

The percentages of pupils and teachers in one-room schools are 
lower than in any other State except possibly Massachusetts. 


□ 


□ 


GRADED SCHOOLS HAVING ADVANTAGES 
OF CONSOLIDATION. 

75 TO 100$ OF TOWNSHIPS ARE TOWNSHIP UNIT 
OR CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT. 

50 TO 75$ OF TOWNSHIPS ARE TOWNSHIP UNIT 
OR CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT. 

25 TO 50$ OF TOWNSHIPS ARE TOWNSHIP UNIT 
OR CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT. 

25$.OR LESS OF TOWNSHIPS EITHER TOWNSHIP 
UNIT OR CONSOLIDATED DISTRICTS. 

NO TOWNSHIP UNIT OR CONSOLIDATED DISTRICTS. 






76 


SCHOOL, CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION 


THE PERCENTAGE OP PUPILS ENROLLED III ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS, 

HEW JERSEY 



Map 9. —Showing by counties the degree of school centralization in New Jersey as 
expressed by per cent of pupils enrolled in one-room schools. 





















































































A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


77 


Statistics of consolidation in New Jersey. 



1910 

1920 

Per cent 
of 

increase. 

Districts. 

458 

2,084 

1908 

8 26,836 

8 5. 3 

8 15,238 

8 3.1 

4 826 

4 6. 5 
10,301 

8 12,778 
$145,737 
1.6 

493 

2,106 

654 

18,995 

3.2 
15,434 

2.6 
529 
2.8 
14,994 
21.727 
$781', 259 

2.2 

7.6 
1.05 
8 27.9 
8 29.2 

Buildings. 

One-room buildings. 

Enrollment in one-room buildings. 

Per cent of day school enrollment. 

Enrollment in two-room buildings. 

1.2 

Per cent of day school enrollment. 

Teachers in one-room school. 

8 35.9 

Per cent of State teaching corps. 

Class rooms.. 

45.5 

70.1 

436 

Pupils transported. 

Spent for transportation. 

Per cent of total expense. t . 




1 Data for 1911. * Decrease. 8 Data for 1913. 4 Data for 1912. 6 Data for 1915. 

The accompanying Map 9 shows by counties the percentage of 
pupils enrolled in one-room schools. It is significant that for a State 
in which the total enrollment in one-room schools is only 3.2 per cent 
of the day-school enrollment the percentages by counties range from 
0 to 27.1 per cent. If like data could be had for all the States the 
exact field for consolidation could be much more accurately deter¬ 
mined. 

Indiana .—Indiana has probably effected more rural-school con¬ 
solidation than any other State. The following table shows some¬ 
thing of the growth of consolidated schools: 

Consolidation in Indiana. 


Year. 

Con¬ 

solidated 

schools. 

Abandoned 

schools. 

Wagons 

used. 

Children 

trans¬ 

ported. 

Total 
cost of 
transpor¬ 
tation. 




181 

2,599 

5,356 


1904. 


679 

374 

1 $590 

1906. 

361 

830 

561 

9,424 

1 1,034 

1907 


1,261 

1,611 



1908 . . . . 

386 

1,116 

19,109 
19,293 

12,304 

1909 . 

426 

1,241 

155,390 

1912 . 

550 


1,446 

23,884 

26,403 

37,456 

57.059 

447,109 

664,807 

1914 . . 

665 

1,963 

2,164 

2,363 

2,558 

2,920 

1916 . 

706 

2,046 

1,164,726 

1,250,460 

1918. 

897 

4', 193 

1919. 

1,002 

1,040 

4,311 

4,107 

62,463 

1,495,547 

1920. 

62,480 

1,917,711 



67,824 

2,372,578 






1 Cost per day. 


The progress of consolidation in Indiana, as shown by increases in 
number of consolidated schools, schools abandoned, children trans¬ 
ported, and amounts spent for transportation, and by the decrease 
in number of one-room schools, is shown in the graph on page 78: 

In his report for 1920 the State superintendent gives a ranking of 
the 92 counties for the percentage of one-room schools abandoned. 
Randolph County is first, having at that time closed 92 per cent of 
its little schools. Only three counties had no consolidated schools. 

52571°—23-6 





















































78 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


The Indiana education commission recently reported: 

No county is fully consolidated; fairly complete consolidation has occurred 
in only a few counties; less than 40 per cent of the counties have consolidated 
as many as half their one-teacher schools, and three counties have done nothing 
at all. Obviously, the extent to which the elimination of one-teacher schools 
can be carried depends somewhat on topographical conditions, distribution of 
population, etc. Thus certain counties will always have some small schools. 
Nevertheless, in probably three-fourths of the counties, practically complete 
consolidation is feasible. To achieve this result, every effort should be made; 


THE PROGRESS OF CONSOLIDATION IN INDIANA 


CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS 


1906 

361 

1920 

1.040 

1890 

8,863 

1920 

4,880 

1904 

679 

1920 

2,920 

1902 

2,699 

1920 

62,480 

1909 

$ 166,390 

1920 

$1,917,711 



ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS 



SCHOOLS ABANDONED 



CHILDREN TRANSPORTED 


SPENT FOR TRANSPORTATION 


for rural education can not be efficiently conducted unless children are brought 
together in considerable numbers. * * * 

A satisfactory system would provide elementary schools within easy reach of 
all children, a number of junior high schools properly located, and a smaller 
number of senior high schools so situated as to cover a still larger area. The 
elementary schools would thus be so coordinated and articulated with junior and 
senior high schools that, with a minimum of difficulty, a pupil, having passed 
through the neighborhood elementary school, could without interruption con¬ 
tinue his education in good high schools. 4 

The commission also advises that the “ township is too small a unit 
to serve as an adequate and efficient basis of rural school organiza¬ 
tion ” and recommends a county system for all schools except those 
of the larger cities. 


4 Public Education in Indiana. A report of the Indiana Educational Commission, 
pp. 215, 216. 






A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


79 


Ohio .—In Ohio the word “ centralization ” is used with practically 
the same meaning as the w T ord “ consolidation ” in most of the other 
States. If all the schools of a district, whether township or part of 
a township, are combined into one by process of petition and election, 
they are said to be centralized. Consolidation, in Ohio, is applied 
only to the temporary or permanent suspension of schools because of 
an average daily attendance of less than 10, disadvantageous loca¬ 
tion, or other cause, and may be effected by the board of education 
without an election. 

The growth in number of centralized and consolidated schools in 
the State since 1909 is shown in the following table: 


1909. 

1910. 

1911. 

1912. 

1913. 

1914. 

1915. 


Number of schools. 

_ 131 

_ 171 

—^_ 188 

_ 192 

_ 296 

_ 358 

_ 468 


Number of schools. 

1916 _ 539 

1917 _ 611 

1918 _ 656 

1919 _ 722 

1920 _ (estimated)_ 800 

1922_1,010 


The amount spent for transportation increased from $473,470 in 
1915 to $2,329,937 in 1921. 

The greater part of centralization in Ohio has taken place since, 
the enactment of the rural-school code at a special session of the 
assembly called for the purpose in 1914. 

The rural-school supervisor states that there are about 2,900 fewer 
one-room schools than there were in 1914, and some 6,600 still re¬ 
maining. He lists the 13 counties leading in centralization on Janu¬ 
ary 1,1922, as follows: 


Counties. 

Number of one- 
room, one- 
teacher build¬ 
ings in the 
county in— 

Consolidated 
and central¬ 
ized schools in 
the county 
in 1922. 

Counties. 

Number of one- 
room, one- 
teacher build¬ 
ings in the 
county in— 

Consolidated 
and central¬ 
ized schools in 
the county 
in 1922. 

1914 

1922 

Con¬ 

soli¬ 

dated. 

Cen¬ 

tral¬ 

ized. 

1914 

1922 

Con¬ 

soli¬ 

dated. 

Cen¬ 

tral¬ 

ized. 

Butler. 

90 

27 

6 

3 

Medina. 

85 

15 

10 

7 

Chamnaien 

70 

8 

3 

12 

Pickaway. 

87 

22 

5 

10 

Clark P 

65 

5 

19 

7 

Portage. 

80 

13 

3 

18 

Cuyahoga. 

96 

18 

20 

18 

Preble. 

94 

23 

7 

4 

Fayette 

84 

26 

2 

2 

Trumbull. 

85 

8 

1 

21 

Lake . 

56 

20 

11 

1 

Union. 

40 

21 

1 

17 

Lucas.. 

97 

30 

22 

1 







North Dakota .—The essential facts of the statistics contained in 
the report of the inspector of rural, graded, and consolidated schools 
for 1912 summarize somewhat as follows: 


Rural schools reporting_4,100 

(а) With average daily attendance less than 12-2,214 

(б) With average daily attendance 13 to 20- 1,253 

(c) With average daily attendance more than 20- 418 
















































80 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Schools legally consolidated_ 108 

(а) Located in villages_ 55 

(б) Located in the open country_ 53 

Schools having pupils living over 2 \ miles from the schoolhouse_ 683 

Number of these, exclusive of consolidations, that furnish transportation. 263 

Number of these spoken of as consolidated schools_ 53 

Pupils transported__2, 519 

Towns with less than four schoolhouses_._ 947 


Since 1912 the policy of consolidation and standardization has been 
steadily followed, the State inspectors of consolidated, graded, and 
rural schools increased from one to three, and the amounts spent in 
aid for these schools was raised from $15,000 to $215,444 in 1921. 
Progress by years is shown in the following table: 


Number of schools standardized. 


Year. 

Consoli¬ 

dated. 

Graded. 

One-room 

rural. 

Total. 

Amount 
appro¬ 
priated 
for State 
aid. 

1911-12. 

12 

33 

125 

170 

$15,000 

1912-13. 

31 

53 

239 

323 

15,000 

1913-14. 

62 

51 

197 

310 

35,000 

1914-15. 

80 

53 

238 

371 

35,000 

1915-16. 

124 

57 

258 

439 

60,000 

1916-17. 

164 

52 

384 

600 

112,500 

1917-18. 

224 

42 

489 

755 

112,500 

1918-19.. 

285 

47. 

543 

875 

211,111 

1919-20. 

299 

29 

617 

945 

209,589 

1920-21. 

312 

31 

662 

1,005 

215,443 


State aid, standardization, and State inspection applied through¬ 
out the period and still apply to high schools also. 

It must be understood that the number of consolidated schools 
that have met the standard requirements and received State aid does 
not represent all the consolidated schools of. the State. The data 
showing the progress in consolidation for all schools are as follows: 


1910. 

1911. 

1912. 

1913. 

1914. 

1915. 


Number of con¬ 
solidated schools. 

_ 88 

_114 

_126 

- <*) 

_181 

_243 


1916. 

1917. 

1918. 

1919. 

1920. 
1922. 


Number of con¬ 
solidated schools. 

- n 

_401 

- O 

_449 

_457 

_515 


1 No report. 

In 1917 the legislature defined a consolidated school as a one where 
at least two teachers are employed and at least 18 contiguous sections 
are served, without regard to the manner of its formation.” The 
considerable increase in the number reported in 1917 over that of 
1915 is partly accounted for by that law. 







































A STATEMENT BY STATES, 


81 


A summary of a report on consolidation in the State in 1922 is: 


1. Number of one-room schools___4, 751 

2. Consolidated schools_ 515 

Open country schools_ 177 

Village and town schools_ 33S 

3. Average size of grounds_acres_2 to 5 

4. Largest grounds_acres_ 20 

5. Cost of buildings and equipment_$7,000-$80,000 

6. Teacherages_ 350 


Very few of the schools have farms in addition to the grounds. 
None hires the principal by the year. Most of them have auditoria 

NORTH DAKOTA 



LEGEND: 

Town Consolidation • With High School ® 

Open Country • With High School Q 

Map 10.—Showing the location and the kinds of consolidated schools in North Dakota. 

and laboratories for agriculture, home economics, and manual train¬ 
ing. One has live stock; none has farm machinery. 

The data for transportation are: « 


1. Conveyances used_603 

Owned by district-479 

Hired by district-124 

2. Number of pupils conveyed-16,509 

3. Average cost per pupil per year-$45. 51 

4. Average monthly salary of drivers-$60-$125 


The children ride from to 8 miles one way and are from 30 
minutes to hours on the road. No bond is required of the drivers. 




























82 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


The schools are organized on the 8-4 plan. In the elementary 
grades of the consolidated schools, 51,300 children are enrolled. The 
per cent of daily attendance is over 90. In the high-school grades 
there are 7,871 pupils. No data in regard to the relative efficiency 
of the schools before and after consolidation are available. 

The appropriation for State aid to consolidated, graded, and rural 
schools of $430,000 for the school years of 1920-21 and 1921-22 was 
insufficient, and the part of it given to the consolidated schools was 
divided pro rata, as shown in the following table: 

Apportionment of State aid to the consolidated schools. ( Standardised .) 


Class of school. 

Tax rate, 
in mills. 

Number 

of 

schools. 

Amount 
of aid for 
each 
school. 

Total 
amount 
of aid. 

Pro rata 
share of 
aid for 
each 
school. 

Total 
amount 
pro rata 
aid for 
each 
school. 

First. 

0-4 

2 

$400 

$800 

$232 

$464 


4-7 

12 

800 

9,600 

464 

5,568 


7+ 

129 

1,200 

154,800 

696 

89, 784 

Second. 

0-4 

1 

350 

350 

203 

203 


4-7 

20 

700 

14,000 

406 

8,120 


7+ 

58 

1,050 

60,495 

809 

35,322 

Third. 

0-4 

4 

300 

1,200 

174 

692 


4-7 

12 

600 

7,200 

348 

4,178 


7+ 

74 

900 

66,600 

522 

38,622 

Total. 


312 


314,400 


182,961 








STATES IN WHICH THE COUNTY AS A UNIT IS A CONSIDERABLE 
FACTOR IN BRINGING ABOUT CONSOLIDATION. 

Utah .—The entire State is divided into 40 consolidated school 
units. Five of these are city systems. Outside of the cities the 29 
counties each form one county-district with the following exceptions: 

1. Summit, three districts: North Summit, South Summit, and Park. 

2. Salt Lake, two districts: Granite and Jordan. 

3. Utah, two districts: Alpine and Nebo. 

4. Juab, two districts: Tintic and Juab. 

5. Sanpete, two districts: North and South Sanpete. 

A special report on consolidation in Utah says: 

The actual operation of the county-district plan was found to be far less 
difficult and met with much less opposition than was anticipated. Almost with¬ 
out exception, the patrons of the schools accepted the new order of affairs as 
the right thing, and obstacles which at first seemed formidable quickly van¬ 
ished under the touch of reality. It soon became evident that consolidation 
promised unlooked for advantages. It not only substituted a business organi¬ 
zation for a system of chaos and decay, but the new movement carried a 
spirit of progress and a stimulus to achievement never before suspected. 

Besides offering a business organization and supplying expert supervision 
through which better qualified teachers are secured, consolidation tends to 
equalize school advantages. This is done largely through providing a uniform 
school year, equalizing tax burdens, and encouraging the transportation of 
children living more than 21 or 3 miles from convenient school centers. 




















A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


83 


Utah soon discovered, however, that while consolidation equalized school 
burdens and advantages within each school unit, it was powerless to equalize 
advantages among the various units themselves. For example, a 5-mill tax on 
the property valuation of a certain district unit yields only $6.90 per capita 
of the school population while the same levy in another district gives $57.10 
per capita, almost sufficient for elementary and high school purposes without 
financial help from the outside. This difference is due to the fact that the 
latter district possesses a large amount of corporate property, while the former 
has practically none. 

The disparity in the taxing power behind each child among the various dis¬ 
tricts led the State in 1919 to propose a constitutional amendment providing 
for a State school fund equaling $25 per capita of the school population to be 
raised and apportioned annually. This amendment carried in 1920, and the 
legislature of 1921 put it into effect. This means that the wealth of the entire 
State will help materially to educate all the children of the State. 

To provide additional revenue, each school unit through its school board is 
empowered to levy a local school tax ranging up to 7 or 10 mills and to provide 
for such special taxes for maintenance or bonds for building purposes as the 
taxpayers by vote may authorize. 

The transporting of pupils to convenient centers has aided greatly in the 
promotion of well-graded schools and in the establishment of efficient high 
schools. At first the movement met with considerable opposition, largely be¬ 
cause it was an innovation, but as soon as its superior results were apparent, 
opposition weakened and at length practically disappeared. In 1920 all but 
6 of the 40 school units in the State employed transportation for grade pupils, 
and 22 of the districts used it to promote attendance in high schools. During 
the year, $93,193.97 was expended for transportation in the grades, and in the 
high schools $77,092.40. The average distance covered one way is about 5 
miles, or 10 miles for the round trip. The average cost per pupil is approxi¬ 
mately 2 cents per mile in the larger districts reported. Box Elder, Jordan, 
and Granite spend large amounts for this purpose. The city schools, on the 
other hand, have slight occasion to employ this expedient. Auto busses, trucks, 
street cars, interurban roads, and railroads are used in transportation as con¬ 
venience warrants. In several instances high-school students drive the con¬ 
veyances and are taught in the auto repairing departments of the schools to care 
for the machines. 

An evidence of the rapid achievement of results under consolidation is the 
fact that during a single year the number of one-teacher schools was reduced 
18 per cent. At present there are but few over 100 such schools, a number 
which may not be reduced greatly owing to the sparsely settled condition of 
many parts of the State. 

Probably the most striking result of consolidation, however, is the phenomenal 
growth of high schools. In all but two of the small units in the State, a 
high-school education is made possible and in most instances convenient for 
the young people in each district. Altogether, there are 45 schools, each giving 
four years of high-school work, and on the whole splendidly equipped for the 
courses offered. 

As a requisite for participation in the State high-school fund, the State board 
of education wisely decreed that each school be maintained for nine months, 
that a balanced curriculum including vocational subjects be offered, that the 
school be well equipped for the courses offered, and that the teachers hold cer¬ 
tificates issued by the State. High-school inspection was likewise required. 

Forty high-school buildings have been erected, at an average expenditure of 
approximately $100,000. The East Side High cost $750,000 and the West Side 


84 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION 


UTAH 



LEGEND 

Consolidated Rural Districts- 

with High Schools-—— - © 

With Junior Schools- 0 


Map 11.—Showing Die consolidated schools of Utah. 


















A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


85 


High, about to be constructed, is estimated at $1,000,000. The campuses of 
these new schools average 10 acres each. Most of the buildings include a 
gymnasium and an auditorium, and, where a water system is available, swim¬ 
ming pools and showers. 

A part-time law passed by the legislature of 1919 requires attendance for 30 
weeks in high school up to 18 years of age unless the minor is excused to go to 
work, and when so excused such person is required to take at least 144 hours 
a year in part-time schools or classes. This law in its actual operation is prov¬ 
ing to be a full-time measure, particularly in the rural districts where part- 
time classes are not feasible. In several districts practically the entire high- 
school population is enrolled in public and private schools. This has given 
rise to an unprecedented situation; namely, in Utah the per cent of high-school 
enrollment to the high-school population, counting attendance in private schools 
and part-time classes, is larger than the per cent of enrollment in the elementary 
grades. It is doubtful that this unique condition is duplicated by any other 
State in the Union. 

Louisiana .—In the biennial report of the State superintendent of 
public education of Louisiana for the years 1920 and 1921, the 
following statement is made as to consolidation of schools: 

There has been great improvement in the country schools throughout the 
State. Consolidation has gone forward rapidly; the number of one-teacher 
schools is small—a majority of the country children are taught in consolidated 
schools—and many of them are on the high-school approved list, where pupils 
are receiving excellent instruction under the direction of competent teachers. 

The State has just adopted a good roads system which will soon provide 
graveled or hard surfaced roads in practically all communities throughout the 
State. There has never been any one accomplishment in Louisiana which re¬ 
sulted in so much educational advancement as will be realized from the good 
roads program. Consolidation will keep pace with the building of good roads, 
and it is not too much to believe that within a few years it can be said with 
perfect truth that the country children of the State are being as well educated 
as the children in the cities. 

Data for the year 1920-21 in Louisiana. 


Number of consolidated schools- 1, 201 

Number effected this year- 52 

Number of transfers in use-- 786 

Transfer drivers employed- 775 

Average number of days transfers were used- 159 

Number of children transported- 19, 804 

Consolidated schools using transportation- 318 

Average annual cost of operating each transfer- $784. 91 

Average number of children transported by each transfer- 25 

Average cost per annum per child for transportation- $31.15 

Average annual salary paid drivers- $758. 09 

Total amount spent for drivers’ salaries-$587, 520 

Operating and repairing transfers- $29, 418 

Expenditure for transportation--$616, 939 


In January, 1923, the State superintendent stated: 

I wish to bring to the notice of the board the fact that the good-roads pro¬ 
gram is already showing its beneficial effects upon the public schools. Our 
















86 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


people are committed to the consolidated school for country children. The 
progress in this field has been remarkable when viewed in the light of the had 
roads over which school transfers have been required to operate. Already the 
great majority of the small country schools have been eliminated, and the chil¬ 
dren have been brought together in large schools, where they are housed in 
good buildings and taught by much more competent teachers than could be 
secured in the smaller schools. As the good roads are constructed more of the 
small schools disappear and the children are transported in motor trucks to the 
town schools or to consolidated country schools. 

I think it is reasonable to predict that within 5 or 10 years practically all of 
the small schools, with their numerous classes and inefficient teachers, will 
disappear, and that the country children will receive educational advantages in 
all respects equal to those enjoyed by children living in the larger centers. 
We are justified, I believe, in feeling much pride in the truth that probably no 
other rural State in the Nation has done more effective work in the wise 
development of its country schools than Louisiana. 5 

Alabama .—Consolidated schools are now being established in the 
State at the rate of about 100 a year, not including small two and 


three room schools. 

Data for the year 1920-21 are as follows: 

Number of consolidated school buildings in State_ 24;") 

Cost of all consolidated buildings_$2, 808, 584 

Number of children attending consolidated schools_ 32, 728 

Number of consolidated schools erected in 1920-21_ 52 

Number of new buildings located in open country_ 41 

New buildings located in villages of less than 100 population_ 11 

Average number of acres in school grounds_ 7$ 

Number of above new schools teaching manual training_ 17 

Number of above new schools teaching domestic science_ 18 

Approximate cost of new buildings_ $662, 809 

Estimated cost of small buildings displaced_ $57, 075 

Amount donated toward cost of buildings by county boards of edu¬ 
cation _ $199,945 

Amount donated toward cost of buildings by State_ $162, 265 

Estimated cost of equipment in new consolidated buildings_ $92, 959 

Value of equipment in small schools displaced_ $9,180 

Number of small buildings displaced_ 122 

Number of teachers in new consolidated schools_ 243 

Number of teachers in small schools displaced_ 164 

Teachers with less than full high-school training in new consolidated 

schools_ 26 

Teachers with less than full high-school training in small schools 

displaced_ 79 

Teachers with two years or more college training in new consoli¬ 
dated schools- 111 

Teachers with two years or more college training in small schools 

displaced_ 33 

Teachers with two or more years professional training in new con¬ 
solidated schools_ 134 

Teachers with two or more years professional training in small 
schools displaced -- 40 


E Minutes of meeting of Louisiana State Bd. of Educ., Jan. 8, 1923. 


























A STATEMENT BY STATES. 87 

Length of service (in months) of teachers in consolidated schools_ 12* 

Length of service (in months) of teachers in small schools displaced- 8J 

Average number of recitations per teacher in consolidated schools-. 11 

Average number of recitations per teacher in small schools displaced 

by consolidated schools_ 26 

Average salary per month in consolidated schools_ $87 

Average salary per month in small schools displaced_ $68 

Enrollment in new consolidated schools_ 8,119 

Enrollment in small schools displaced_ 4,136 

Per cent of enrollment in daily attendance in consolidated schools_ 83 

Per cent of enrollment in daily attendance in small schools displaced. 64 

Average length of term (months) in consolidated schools_ 7* 

Average length of term (months) in small schools displaced_ 6 

Pupils enrolled in high-school grades in consolidated schools_ 1, 678 

Pupil^ enrolled in high-school grades in small schools displaced_ 98 

Cost per term per pupil in consolidated schools_ $22 

Cost per pupil per term in small schools displaced_ $17 

THAN SPOKTATION. 

Transportation vehicles maintained at public expense_ 257 

Motor-driven vehicles owned by county board_ 285 

Horse-driven vehicles owned by county board_ 21 

Busses and wagons purchased by county board prior to October 1, 

1921_ 76 

’ Busses and wagons purchased by county board from October 1, 1920, 

to October 1, 1921_ 23 

Total number pupils conveyed to consolidated schools at public ex¬ 
pense (boys, 4,456; girls, 4,698)_ 9,154 

Average number minutes pupils are on the road_ 46 

Average distance (in miles) each pupil rides_ 49 

Average cost per month per pupil for transportation_ $3.15 

Number of drivers (under contract, 254; under bond, 178)_ 432 

Average monthly salary of drivers- $61. 80 

Average yearly salary of drivers- $471 

Per cent of enrollment in average daily attendance of children 

transported- 87 

Per cent of enrollment in average daily attendance of children not 

transported- 78 

Total amount spent by county board for transportation during past 
scholastic year- $221, 284 

DISTRICT TAX. 

Number districts which have voted the district tax_ 767 

Funds raised by district tax during past scholastic year- $762, 421 

Per cent of all county taxable property included in local tax districts. 37* 

Average number of square miles in each local tax district- 25. 9 

Average number of schools in each local tax district- 2. 3 

Number local tax districts voting tax for first time during past 

scholastic year- 189 

Amount of funds available from district voting tax for first time 

during past scholastic year- $339, 873 

Per cent of district tax used for erection, repair or equipment of 
school buildings_ 52 
































88 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Per cent of district tax used for lengthening term of school- 

Average length of term (in months) of schools in local tax dis¬ 
tricts _ 

Average length of term (in months) of schools not in local tax dis¬ 
tricts — 

Average monthly salary of teachers in local tax districts- 

Average monthly salary of teachers not in local tax districts- 

teachers’ homes. 

Number teachers’ homes in State- 

Average number of rooms in each home- 

Average cost of each home- 

Number homes occupied by principal and family- 

Number of homes in which teachers board- 

Average length of service (in months) of principals living in 

teachers’ homes- 

Average length of service (in months) of teachers boarding in 

teachers’ homes_ 

Average length of service (in months) of teachers not living 

in teachers’ homes_ 

Number teachers’ homes built prior to Oct. 1, 1921- 

Average cost of board to teachers in teachers’ homes- 

Are teachers’ homes proving satisfactory to teachers? Yes, 21; no, 2. 

Are teachers’ homes proving satisfactory to county boards? Don’t 
know, 2 ; yes, 21; no, 2; doubtful, 2; no answer, 2. 1 

North Carolina .—The State superintendent of public instruction, 
E. C. Brooks, in his biennial report for 1920-1922, in discussing a 
State system of public schools, pages 17-22, makes the following 
statement: 

The counties for the first time in our history are in a fair way to erect suit¬ 
able school buildings for all the children. The cities and towns have a fine 
enthusiasm for providing better buildings, and they have voted bond issues 
amounting to nearly $15,000,000 during the past two years. The counties are 
providing large brick buildings with auditoriums for the rural consolidated 
schools. This has been made possible through the aid of the special building 
fund authorized by the last general assembly.’ This fund amounts to $5,000,000, 
and is loaned to the counties for a period of 20 years, the counties repaying 
one-twentieth of the principal and the accrued interest annually. The entire 
building program under construction at this time is estimated to cost, when 
completed, about $25,000,000. 

By June, 1921, applications had been received for the entire $5,000,000. But 
the constitutionality of the act was questioned and the State board of educa¬ 
tion was stopped from making the loans until the courts could pass on its con¬ 
stitutionality. The decision of the supreme court was favorable to the State 
and very far-reaching in its effects. The court made it very clear that the 
constitution demands a State system of schools with the county, not the dis¬ 
trict, as the local unit of administration. 

At the present time $3,300,000 has been loaned and the remainder will be as 
soon as the bonds are sold. The cost of the buildings aided by these loans 
amounts to $9,024,635. The applications far exceeded $5,000,000. Over 


48 

7.2 

6.3 
$86 
$76 


43 

5 

$2,100 
35 
29 

21 

11 

10 

19 

$17 


1 An. Rep. Dept, of Educ., Ala., 1921, pp. 77-79. 


















A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


89 


$3,000,000 of the amount already loaned has gone into small towns, villages, 
and rural districts that could not have secured the necessary funds otherwise 
for the erection of suitable buildings. The larger towns were already financ¬ 
ing their own building programs. 

The growth of the large type of community school having adequate buildings 
and grounds has been remarkable within the past three years. It is giving our 
country districts as good high-school advantages as our towns and cities 
possess. 

But the high school is merely an extension of the elementary school. We 
should look upon the two as one school unit. Other States call this unit a 
“ union school,” and I think we shall have to adopt the same term, because 
many people look upon our high-school program as something separate from the 
elementary school. 

This union school can be secured in our rural communities only through con¬ 
solidation, but this does not necessarily mean the abolition at once of all the 
elementary schools in a consolidated area. The small schools in many dis¬ 
tricts should not be abolished after the consolidation is made, provided the 
buildings are suitable for classroom instruction. Here the first three or four 
grades may be well taught. But eventually the people will demand that their 
children be sent to the central school, when they have had full time to see the 
results. This has been the history of consolidation in North Carolina. 

It is necessary for the State to give substantial aid to this union school in 
order that both elementary and high-school instruction may be equal to the 
same class of instruction in our city schools. 

The growth of the high schools within the last few years, owing to con¬ 
solidation, has been unprecedented. As a result of the State appropriation, 
the number increased in one year from 166 in 1921 to 223 in 1922. With State 
appropriation and careful supervision we added 57 standard high schools to 
the State, and this means also that we strengthened the elementary schools at 
the same time. By a continuation of this same appropriation to the schools 
aided last year, 25 other high schools will be added to the standard list, be¬ 
cause the number of pupils passing up into the higli-school grades will be 
sufficient to give the necessary enrollment for three teachers and a four-year 
curriculum. In other words, we aided about 25 schools last year that will 
require two years’ growth to reach the standard class. 

Moreover, the attendance in the high schools has increased just as the num¬ 
ber of union schools has increased. The enrollment in the standard schools in 
1921 was 21,000, but in 1922 it was 31,000, or an increase of about 50 per cent. 
The total enrollment in all schools giving high-school instruction, including 
both the standard and the nonstandard schools, increased from 30,000 in 1921 
to about 45,000 in 1922, again an increase of about 50 per cent. The number 
of graduates of the standard schools increased from 4,239 in 1921 to 6,000 in 
1922, again almost 50 per cent. But it should be remembered that this in¬ 
creased enrollment in the high-school departments of our union and city 
schools would have been impossible if the elementary school departments had 
not been greatly improved at the same time. 

Mississippi .—The following quotations are taken from the biennial 
report and recommendations of the State superintendent of public 
instruction, 1919-20, pp. 12-15: 

The backbone of the educational system of the State is the rural school, 
where 75 per cent of our children get all the schooling they will ever get. The 
equalizing fund and the compulsory school law have done more for the rural 


90 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TEANSPORTATION. 


child, by way of encouraging the establishment of better schools, than any 
other legislation we have ever had. During the last five years 1,500 small weak 
schools have been abolished, and 430 strong central schools established in their 
stead. Last session 1,800 trucks and wagons were busy every day transporting 
35,000 children to consolidated schools that have taken the places of 2,000 one 
and two teacher schools. This process of elimination of the weak inefficient 
schools is going on just as rapidly as road conditions will permit. I think it 
is safe to say that within the next five years practically every child in the 
country will have as good educational advantages through at least 10 grades 
of work as the children of our cities and towns. 

During the last year the supervisor of high schools has been advising the 
county superintendents and principals of rural schools for the purpose of bring¬ 
ing all rural high-school work up to such a standard that it will be accepted at 
any school or college in the State. Five hundred and seventy-five rural high 
schools doing from one to three years of high-school work are now on the ap¬ 
proved list. Two hundred and twenty-five consolidated schools have as much 
as 10 acres of land each, and 125 a home for the teachers. Twenty-seven 
consolidated schools have been approved by the Federal Government and are 
receiving financial help under the provisions of the Smith-Hughes law. 

Two years ago I reported to you that 67 counties had some consolidated 
schools; now I am glad to report that in every county in Mississippi, except 
one, we find these schools. At that time I reported 353 consolidated schools; 
now there are more than 625. Two years ago there were 1,256 teachers in the 
consolidated schools; now there are 2,000. The number of pupils transported 
has increased from 15,829 to 35,000. In the consolidated schools at this time 
there are about 60,000 pupils, and in all of the schools high-school work is 
being done, one year of high-scliool work in the smallest and four in the 
largest. 

The cost of transportation for the last session was too much, but reports 
from the county superintendents indicate that for the present session there is 
a reduction in many cases from 25 to 50 per cent. 

It gives me pleasure to report that there are now 135 teachers’ homes , in 
use in the State, nearly all of which are in the rural districts. This adds 
a great deal to the pleasure and profit of the teachers and to the welfare of 
the community. 

Tennessee .—Data were gathered on consolidation in the State in 
March of 1922. Of the 95 counties, 14 gave no report. Sixteen 
others reported no consolidated schools within their borders. The 
returns from the G5 counties were incomplete in some details. They 


summarize as follows: 

Number of consolidated schools- 266 

(a) Open country-: 167 

( b ) Rural village_ 85 

(c) Town_ 20 

Number of schools abandoned : 

(«) One-teacher_ 510 

( b ) Two-teacher_ 112 

(c) Three or more teachers_ 22 

Number of teachers in abandoned schools_ S07 

Number of teachers in consolidated schools_ 1 1, 055 


1 Incomplete. 












A STATEMENT BY STATES. 91 

Number of pupils in abandoned schools__ 24, 794 

Number of pupils in consolidated schools_ 42, 859 

Organized on 8-4 plan_ All. 

Size of grounds: 

(а) Number of 1 acre_ 10 

(б) Number of 1 to 5 acres_ 206 

(c) Number of more than 5 acres_ 49 

Teachers’ homes: 

(a) On school grounds_ 17 

( b ) Off school grounds_ 1 

Schools equipped with— 

(a) Auditoria_ 195 

(b) Agricultural laboratories_ 152 

(c) Home economics laboratories_ 90 

TRANSPORTATION. 

Children transported_ 6, 077 

Wagons used_"_ 171 

Truck used_ 68 

Ownership of conveyance: 

(a) Public_ 94 

(b) Private- 143 

Method of securing drivers : 

(c) Competitive bids_ 84 

(b) Selection by board_ 139 

Bond of drivers- $250-$500 

Salaries of drivers-$27. 50-$92. 50 

Cost of transportation_ $91, 621 

Average time on route_minutes— 45-120 

Average distance transported_miles 11-5$ 

Average salary of janitor_ $7. 50-$78 

Cost of buildings and equipment- $2, 707. 046 

Data for the school year 1921-22 are : 

Consolidated schools at beginning of year- 416 

Consolidated schools formed during year- 66 

Consolidated schools at close of year- 482 

Vehicles used in transporting pupils_ 354 

а. Wagons- 228 

б. Trucks--- 126 

Average number of pupils transported daily_ 8, 366 

Average cost of transportation per pupil per month_ $2. 64 

Amount spent for transportation- 103, 206 

Spent for new wagons (not included above)- $14,605 

The State superintendent reports: 6 

Under provisions of the public school laws of the State, the department of 
public instruction has cooperated with county authorities in erecting 86 con¬ 
solidated school buildings during the biennial period ending June 30, 1922. 
These buildings range in type from 3 to 10 teachers, and represent, according 
to inspection reports, a total cost of $795,672, of which $85,818 was paid by the 

• Bien. Rep. State Supt. Pub. Instruc. of Tenn., 1921-22, pp. 269-270. 






































92 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


State. By reason of the erection of these 86 buildings, 215 old dilapidated 
buildings have been abandoned, and the children that formerly occupied them 
are now comfortably housed in new, attractive buildings, adequately lighted, 
properly ventilated, conveniently arranged and heated. 

So popular is the movement to abandon the little isolated one-teacher school 
that a number of well-arranged and attractive consolidated buildings have been 
built on State plans independently of State aid. Under the regulations, the funds 
do not apply to more than one school in a county, until all applications have 
been considered. This being true, the county that puts on a real building pro¬ 
gram frequently builds from three to five splendidly arranged and equipped 
consolidated schoolhouses, two or more of which are paid for independently of 
State funds. This being true, it is very evident that more State funds must 
be made available, if the necessary building requirements are met. 

Kentucky .—The superintendent of public instruction of Kentucky, 
in liis biennial report of 1921, makes the following statement: 

Notwithstanding the conservatism of our people, consolidation has made 
steady progress in Kentucky. Not only have many rural schools been con¬ 
solidated but a number of “ graded common schools ” have voluntarily returned 
to the county, united with other districts and established larger and better 
institutions. This progressive movement, already tried by every one of the 
48 States, must eventually bring to most of our counties a satisfactory solu¬ 
tion of the rural life problem. 

There are places where, because of rocks, hills, stumps, and rough fields, 
men can not use a binder and must employ less modern machinery or even cut 
their wheat with a cradle. So with school work, there are many communi¬ 
ties, and even counties, where the one-room school is still a necessity. In such 
a place it should be in charge of the best teacher available and made the best 
school possible under the circumstances. 

In compiling statistics for a.report of July 21, 1921, we obtained from 114 
out of the 120 counties in Kentucky the data upon which the following state¬ 
ment is based: 

Consolidation in Kentucky. 



Open 

coimtry. 

Towns 

and 

villages. 

Total. 

Graded common schools (independent). 

56 

258 

314 

Under control of county: 

2-teacher schools (union). 

280 

121 

401 

1 

3-teacher schools (consolidated)— 

With high school. 

32 

38 

Without high school. 

30 

15 

> 115 

4 or more teacher school— 

With high school. 

28 

102 

1 143 

Without high school. 

6 

7 





Total.. 



973 





Established 1920-21 (union and consolidated)_ 79 

Schools with free transportation (24 in open country; 23 in towns and 

villages)_ 47 

Counties with free transportation_ 16 

Motor busses now used in transportation_ 62 

Horse-drawn vehicles (large)_ 33 

Horse-drawn vehicles (small). (No accurate data.) 





















A STATEMENT BY STATES. 93 

Number of districts levying local tax_ 120 

July 1, 1919, there were 17 of these schools furnishing free transporta¬ 
tion ; gain since that time_ 30 

Schools with free transportation: 1 in 1911; 6 in 1915; 19 in 1919; 47 
in 1921. 


White schools with two or more teachers (including graded common 

schools) (631 in open country; 868 in towns and villages in 1916)_ 973 

Average cost of transportation per child per day—estimated on 10 
counties with no absolute assurance of accuracy: 


Horse-drawn_cents_ 19 

Motor_do-11 


Among the leading consolidation counties may be mentioned Mason, with 
6 consolidated schools, 35 teachers, 14 motor busses, and 7 horse-drawn 
vehicles; Fayette, with 7 consolidated schools, 33 teachers, 12 motor busses, 2 
horse-drawn vehicles, and extensive interurban service; Warren, with 3 con¬ 
solidation schools, 20 teachers, 7 motor busses, and 6 wagons; Grant, Frank¬ 
lin, Garrard, and Hart, using from 5 to 8 busses each; Jefferson and Shelby, 
with busses and interurban service. 

In the following counties, schools requiring free transportation have been 
established within the past biennial period: Ballard, Boyle, Bracken, Carroll, 
Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Grant, Hart, Henderson, Jefferson, Kenton, Lincoln, 
Ohio, Butler, and Shelby. 

Consolidation has been authorized in Daviess, Campbell, Owen, Shelby, and 
other counties where buildings are not yet completed. 

Maryland .—Seventeen of the twenty-three counties were trans¬ 
porting some pupils in 1921 and expended $84,870, an increase for 
that purpose of approximately $20,000 over the amount spent in 
1920. The fifty-fifth annual report of the State Board of Educa¬ 
tion of Maryland for 1921 (pp. 21 and 72) says: 

That Maryland, outside of Baltimore City, has largely a rural school problem 
is shown by the fact that 70 per cent of the white and 80 per cent of the 
colored elementary schools have only one teacher. Progress toward consolida¬ 
tion varies considerably, however, from a minimum of 36 per cent one-teacher 
white schools in Baltimore County to 91 per cent in Calvert County; and for the 
colored schools, from no one-teacher schools in Allegany County to 97 per cent 
in Charles County. The difficulty of obtaining well-qualified teachers willing 
to go into the rural districts and to attempt to teach all subjects of all grades 
to pupils of all ages makes the problem of the one-teacher school most difficult. 
When the cost of transportation is not prohibitive, the consolidated school 
makes possible a better classification of pupils and better supervision, and usu¬ 
ally brings a financial saving because of the elimination of very small classes. 

There has been a slow, yet steady, progress in consolidation of rural schools. 
The topography of Maryland, conditions of weather and roads, and other ob¬ 
stacles, are such that it may not ever be possible or desirable to eliminate en¬ 
tirely the one-room school. Our immediate objective is to improve existing 
schools as much as possible and to work for a sane program of consolidation. 

A careful study of the conditions in this State impels to the belief that con¬ 
solidation is generally practicable §s well as desirable, but that its consumma¬ 
tion on any large scale awaits the formation of an intelligent public sentiment. 
It is idle to expect consolidation projects to succeed if left wholly to the de- 

52571°—23-7 







94 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


cision of school officials. The people must be reliably informed, wisely led, 
and considerately consulted. This requires a clearness of vision and a firmness 
of purpose on the part of the county superintendents on whom, mainly, must 
rest the burden of formulating a forward-looking program of consolidation. 
Happily, most of them are conscious of their opportunities and their respon¬ 
sibilities in this direction, and the outlook for the future is most promising. 

Georgia .—The forty-ninth annual report of the department of 
education of Georgia, for the school year ending December 31, 1920, 
says: 

More than three-fourths of our people live in rural communities. As a 
natural consequence we have a number of small schools. In this State we have 
4,867 one-room schools, out of a total of 8,359. 

For years the State department of education has encouraged consolidation 
of small schools, and we have some excellent instances in many counties. The 
difficulties in the way are so great, however, that the superintendents and 
boards are inclined to go to the other extreme and to permit almost every 
hard-headed man who wants a school near his back door to have his way. 
As an inducement to counteract this, the State department of education for 
some years past has urged the inducement of financial aid and secured last 
year the passage of what is known as the Barrett-Rogers law. It was divided 
into two parts—elementary and high schools. Rules and regulations were 
prepared at once after securing the law, and each county was offered the 
right to secure $500 of State aid, provided consolidation to the amount of at 
least four rooms and four teachers was effected. Proper sanitary facilities 
were required, and transportation wherever necessary. In the first year of its 
operation, we were able to qualify for this aid 74 schools. 

A special report to the Bureau of Education gives the following 
data for these schools: 

There are 76 automobile trucks and 3 wagons used to transport children to 
these schools. In addition to this, many children are transported by private 
conveyance, the cost being defrayed in part by a per diem of 25 cents allowed 
by the county board of education. There are instances where this has proven 
less expensive than maintaining a truck, on account of the small number to 
be transported. 

The total attendance was 14,409 ; 7,319 of these were girls, and 7,090 were 
boys; the average enrollment per school was 195.’ 

The State superintendent’s comments on the application of the 
Bassett-Rogers law to high schools and consolidation are: 

High-school work and consolidation is even more difficult, and the reward 
was greater. One thousand dollai-s was offered to those of our weaker counties 
now without a standard A grade high school that would consolidate their high- 
school work at the best and most accessible place in the county and give the 
instruction there free of charge to the boys and girls of the county. Note that 
it was given for these boys and girls from the l'ural regions and not as a 
contribution to any local system. In fact, the rules and regulations required 
to qualify for this work made it rather an expensive undertaking for any high 
school securing the prize. Most of them paid from 3 to 10 times as much as 
$1,000 in order to qualify for the State aid. They were glad to do this, how- 


7 Report on School Consolidation in Geprgia, by Walter B. Hill, Special Supervisor. 




A STATEMENT BY STATES, 


95 


ever, in order to increase tlieir own school facilities. It was of especial worth 
in showing the value of cooperation between the towns and counties. Naturally, 
we had some few instances of selfish attempts to divert this fund toward the 

GEORGIA 



I CA 

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TOWNS 


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\ SHAM 


CORDON 


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ELBERT 


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.HARALSON 


WALTON 


W>i r , U o L JoCK»,ey 


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MORGAN L. 


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COWETA 


BUTTS 


HANCOCK 


SPALOING 


TROUP j > 


ION ROE \ JONES 


WASHINGTON 


/ SCREVEN 


HARRIS 


j TALBOT / 


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’ BLECK* 
VLEY^ 


LAURENS 


CHATTA 

Vhoochee 


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'SUMTER 


WILCOX 


TELFAIR 


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/'•MEFF DAVISj 


I TERRELL 


RANDOLPH ‘\ 


COFFEE 


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'WARE 


CLINCH 


CAMDEN 


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OECATUR 


CHARL1 


THOMAS I BROOKS ) 


GRAOY 


LEGEND 


State-aided Consolidated High Schools. 



State-aided Consolidated School and Districts. 


Map 12.—Showing the consolidated schools that received aid under the terms of the 

Barrett-Rogers Act. 


upbuilding of some particular school, but as a rule all over the State the aid 
was accepted in the spirit in which it was given—for the purpose of giving the 
remotest country boy and girl as good a chance for a high-school education as 

















96 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


those living in the towns and cities. Through this law for consolidation, 63 
schools were given this aid. 

These 63 schools, in order to qualify for this aid, spent for buildings, equip¬ 
ment, libraries, and laboratories, $471,045 during the year. Thus it will be 
seen that this Barrett-Rogers act, through the gift of $100,000, induced the ex¬ 
penditure of 10 times as much money in local communities. It was of immense 
value, too, in securing cooperation between town and county people and dozens 
of places that had before been antagonistic. More even than the value of the 
money aid, boards frequently testify, was the fact that they were shown ex¬ 
actly what to do in order to qualify for better schools. 

In these schools 3,713 pupils are now being trained; 1,371 are rural boys and 
girls; 659 were transported, and 311 are boarding pupils. Virtually all are 
rural, as none live in towns with a population of more than 2,600. The census 
define such as rural. 8 * 

Florida .—In 1912 the State superintendent reported that 12 coun¬ 
ties in the State had made fair progress in consolidation of schools. 
In 1920, of the 54 counties, 50 were transporting pupils and had 
schools representing some form of consolidation. Accurate data on 
the consolidations in the State are not available. Approximately 
1,900 of the 2,532 school buildings are one-room. 

In 1919 the superintendent of Dade County reported that the 37 
white schools of that county had been consolidated into 18 schools, 
with an enrollment of 4,000 pupils. Eleven of the 18 are consolida¬ 
tions of from two to seven schools each. There are four senior high 
schools in the county and three junior high schools, making sec¬ 
ondary education possible for every boy and girl in the county. 

Two other counties have reported somewhat in detail on their 
consolidated schools. The reports show eight of such schools, all 
in towns or villages, with grounds averaging 1£ acres, the largest 
being 5, and the buildings ranging in price from $1,500 to $90,000. 
Six of the buildings have auditoriums. No teacherages or school 
farms are reported; nor does there seem to be any provision made 
for adding to the curriculum such studies as agriculture, home 
economics, or manual training. Two of the eight schools offer a 
four-year high-school course; one offers a two-year course. In the 
elementary grades 1,386 pupils are enrolled; 276 in the high school. 
Sixteen autos are used to convey 364 pupils an average distance 
of 4 miles each, at a cost of 20 cents a pupil a day. Only one of 
the schools reports changes in costs due to consolidation, and that 
is a 20 per cent increase in per capita cost based on daily attendance. 

The State superintendent reports for 1920: 10 

Consolidation in some measure has been effected in a number of counties 
during the past two years. Many county boards of education, after thoroughly 

8 Forty-ninth An. Rep. Dept, of Educ. of Ga. for school year ending Dec. 31, 1920, 

pp. 21, 22, 23. 

10 Bien. Rep. Supt. Pub. Instruc., Florida, for the two years ending June 30, 1920, 
p. 172. 



A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


97 


studying the problem, have deemed it wise not to undertake consolidation on 
too large a scale, where a great deal of transportation would be necessary, 
hut have rather confined’their efforts to uniting two or three one-teacher schools 
into a three or four teacher school. While this policy is followed most of the 
children are in walking distance and very little, if any, extra expense is 
incurred. Many of the counties have made some very extravagant and fail¬ 
ing efforts at consolidation. The counties that have made greatest progress 
and success in consolidation are: Broward, Brevard, Dade, DeSoto, Escam¬ 
bia, Osceola, and Volusia. 

Personally I believe the time has now come when a definite building and 
consolidation program can be projected throughout the State, but the State 
must grant “ State aid ” for consolidated rural schools. This should be done 
by appropriating $2,000 annually to each county, under State board of educa¬ 
tion regulations, supervised by the State inspectors. 

Some major benefits of consolidated rural schools might be mentioned, but 
space forbids. However, one of the most urgent problems in rural education 
is to provide the people with easily accessible rural high schools. The per¬ 
centage of country people educated in high schools of rural type is amazingly 
small in contrast with the percentage of town people, who have advantages of 
city or town high schools. City schools are organized for city children; rural 
high schools should be organized for rural children. 

Virginia .—In the decade 1910-1920 the number of one-room schools 
grew less year by year and the amount spent for transportation 
larger. In 1915 the State superintendent reported: 11 

The department of public instruction began to gather statistics in reference 
to one-room schools in 1909-10. That year there were 5,308 one-room schools 
in Virginia, and by 1912 the number had decreased to 5,014; during the next 
two years the number fell to 4,863, and during the past year to 4,666. This 
shows that the number of one-room schools is decreasing much more rapidly 
than the number of houses is decreasing. In other words, one-room houses 
are being enlarged or are being replaced by two-room houses, just as the two- 
room house in turn is giving place to the house having three rooms or more. 

The one-room school that must remain is making itself a “ standard ” school, 
while the one which is destined to grow is adding additional rooms, and the 
third type, which may aspire to all of the benefits of a large school by con¬ 
solidation and transportation, is not losing the opportunity to do so. 

Detailed statistics for consolidation were published for the years 
1915, 1916, and 1917, and then discontinued. For 1921 there are 
reported 258 consolidated schools, transporting 8,885 pupils, at a cost 
of $207,262. 

While the State has made considerable progress in the last 20 years 
in reducing the number of schools and of one-room schools and in 
providing transportation of pupils, it still has as its most difficult 
problem the small rural schools. The survey commission stated 
(1920): 

Virginia is at present a State primarily of small one-room and two-room 
schools. Of approximately 6,500 noncity schools more than two-thirds are one- 
room schools, more than one-sixth are two-room schools, and less than one- 


11 An. Rep. Supt. Pub. Instrue., Virginia, school year 1914-15, pp. 20, 21. 



98 SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 

sixth have three or more rooms each. Of all schools in the State (including 
those in cities) more than four-fifths are one-room or two-room rural schools, 
enrolling 44 per cent of all white pupils, more than two-thirds of all colored 

NEW MEXICO 



Town Consolidation # With High School 0 

Open Country m With High School ca 


Map 13. —Showing the consolidated schools of New Mexico. 

pupils, and over one-lialf of all pupils of both races in the State. It is obvious 
that one of the greatest problems for education in Virginia is that created by 
the large number of one-room or two-room schools. 12 


12 Virginia Public Schools, The Virginia Education Commission. Part 1, p. 217. 






















A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


99 


New Mexico .—The 129 consolidated schools use 248 school wagons 
and auto busses. Of these, 93 are publicly owned, 155 in private 
ownership. In a few cases children are on the road as much as two 
hours one way and travel a distance of 29 miles. In 1920-21, 5,119 
children were transported at a total cost of $210,336. The accom¬ 
panying map shows the location of the consolidated schools. 

STATES IN WHICH CONSOLIDATION IS BEING EFFECTED 
THROUGH A DISTRICT SYSTEM. 

Colorado .—Since 1914 consolidation has been constantly urged in 
the State. It has made steady and rapid progress. Almost no 
changes have been made in the original consolidation law, and no 
State aid has been given such schools. X summary of the data relat¬ 
ing to consolidation for 1918 and 1921 is as follows: 


Consolidation in Colorado. 



1918 

1921 

Consolidated districts. 

68 

171 

$810,000 

134 

102 

32 

2,570 

146 

425 

$0,003,671 

448 

400 

48 

11,400 

10-14 

146 

1,078 

343 

735 

29,000 

5,000 

24,000 

93 





Horse drawn. 






349 

High school”.. 



Enrollment... 

9,864 

1,091 

8,773 


Elementary. 





The general policy is to form a good consolidation or centraliza¬ 
tion or none at all. Unions of small schools for the purpose of 
establishing other small schools are not encouraged. In 1919 eighty- 
one consolidated and centralized schools reported assessed valuations 
totaling $100,803,954, or an arithmetical mean of $1,244,493, and 
ranging from $193,465, the lowest, to $3,745,130, the highest. The 


distribution was as follows: 

Valuation in millions or fractions 

of one million. Number of districts. 

Less than one-fourth- 3 

fine-fourth to one-half- 0 

One-half to three-fourths- 11 

Three-fourths to one- 16 

One to one and one-fourth- 13 

One and one-fourth to one and one-half- 10 

One and one-half to one and three-fourths- 7 

Two to three- 9 

More than three- 4 

































100 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION' AND TRANSPORTATION. 


In these districts the arithmetical mean of the local tax levy was 
9.7 mills on each $100. The lowest rate was 2.79 mills, the highest 
23.72. 


COLORADO 


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MONTROSE 


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ARCHULETA 


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• CdRSQLIDATED SCHOOLS. 

Map 14. —Showing the location, of the consolidated schools of Colorado. 

Iowa .—By 1917 there were 238 consolidated schools. For the 
two years following little was done because of ambiguities in the 
law. This was largely corrected by the assemblies of 1919 and 1921. 

In 1920 the number of consolidated schools—288—was 2.3 per cent 
of the total for the State. The number of children transported was 
8.5 per cent of the average daily attendance, and the amount spent 
for transportation 4.1 per cent of the current expense of maintaining 
the schools. 

During the pa*st three years an intensive campaign for consolida¬ 
tion has been going on in the State, a campaign that is bringing 
about the establishment of consolidated schools more rapidly than 
in any other section of the United States. In 1919 the State educa¬ 
tional association adopted the following plans for improving rural 
schools: 

























A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


101 


Major program: Bring full educational opportunity, encouragement, and 
enthusiasm to all rural children by means of well-organized, well-administered, 
and well-taught consolidated schools as rapidly as conditions will permit. 

Minor program: Do everything possible for rural children who can not have 
the benefits of the consolidated school at once through such means as better- 
trained teachers for the rural schools, better supervision, better sanitary condi¬ 
tions, better equipment, standardization, health campaigns, play leadership, etc. 

The State Teachers College at Cedar Falls is giving four courses 
in consolidated school education and practice teaching under critic 
supervision in affiliated consolidated schools. Students are permitted 
to major in consolidated school education. The college, through its 
department of rural education, is taking an active interest in the con¬ 
solidation campaign, issuing bulletins on the subject, and advising in 
the formation of consolidated districts. One of the recent bulletins 
states: 

In Iowa the geographic and social conditions are more generally favorable to 
consolidation of schools than in any other State. There are approximately 
1.100 natural centers suitable for consolidated schools in Iowa. The territory 
tributary to these covers practically all the farm land of the State. One-third 
of these consolidations have already been organized. 

Experience has shown that the large consolidated districts are stronger than 
the small ones and are better able to solve their financial and educational prob¬ 
lems. The larger district includes more taxable valuation, hence the cost of the 
school is usually less on each acre of farm land in the district. 

The larger consolidated school districts bring together children enough to 
make possible the most modern school organization with junior and senior 
high schools; a more diversified course of study; a trained superintendent; spe¬ 
cial teachers in vocational subjects; and home projects; musical and athletic 
organizations among the pupils. 

Most important of all, the larger districts provide the financial, professional, 
and social opportunities which attract the very best class of teachers.. 

In many instances the larger districts find their transportation problem more 
simple than do the smaller districts. They use more conveyances. Each con¬ 
veyance comes more directly in from the outskirts of the districts, reducing the 
amount of circuit driving and hack driving to be done. Motor transportation is 
helping greatly to solve the problem of the long route. When increasing the 
size of a consolidated school district or when organizing a new district, it is 
well to keep in mind the fact that roads and vehicles are being improved a 
little each year. A little sacrifice now on the part of those living on the outer 
margins of large districts will contribute to the general welfare of all in the 
future. 13 

A bulletin 14 issued by the State department in 1922 gives the 
following facts about consolidation : 

Consolidated school facts. 

Number of consolidated school districts authorized by vote up to 


Sept. 1, 1921-- 439 

Consolidated schools maintained for school year 1920-21_ 368 


13 A Brief History of Consolidation in Iowa. Cedar Palls, Iowa, Iowa State Teachers 
College, 1921. 

14 “ Iowa’s Consolidated Schools,” by George A. Brown, Consolidated School Inspector. 





102 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Consolidation school facts —Continued. 


Number of pupils enrolled June, 1921_ 68, 619 

Number of pupils transported_ 34,743 

Number of pupils transported by motor busses_ 8,147 

Number of motor busses used_ 441 

Total cost of transportation_._ $1, 641, 008 

Average cost of transportation per pupil_ $47.23 

Cost of new buildings since January, 1920_$10, 000,000 

Number of buildings built since January, 1920_ 93 


Growth and development of consolidation. 

Number of consolidated school districts in Iowa at various periods from 1896 
to 1921: 


1896. 

1913. 

1914. 


1 1916. 
12 1918. 
80 1922. 


187 

238 

439 


Kansas. —The numerous methods by which consolidation for both 
elementary and secondary school purposes may be brought about in 
Kansas are illustrative of the legal difficulties in the way of consoli¬ 
dation where there is a system of schools in which the district has 
strong control and is a body corporate. 

The following ways of effecting consolidation in the State are 
recognized: 

1. The legal electors residing in a territory of not less than 16 
square miles and comprising one or more townships or parts thereof 
may by election form a rural high-school district. The rural high- 
school district makes no provision for the grades and builds up a 
school administrative system entirely separate from the rural ele¬ 
mentary system. It can not be changed to any other form of organi¬ 
zation without being entirely disorganized. It may transport pupils 
that live 3 or more miles from the schoolhouse, or pay parents for 
furnishing transportation at a rate not to exceed 5 cents per mile 
per pupil per day one way, if a majority of the electors of the rural 
high-school district vote for such transportation or payment to 
parents. 

2. A district may consolidate with one or more other districts if 
a majority of the votes cast at a regular or special election is in 
favor of consolidation. If the consolidation is brought about, each 
of the uniting districts gives up its corporate identity, and one board 
is elected for the consolidated district, which is thereafter legally 

known as Union school district No.-, County of-, 

State of Kansas, and is a body corporate. 

3. A common-school district may be annexed to a graded-school 
district by a majority vote of its own electors and the consent of the 
school board of the graded district. This is also known legally as a 
union-school district; the board of the graded school becomes the 

















A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


103 


union-district board, and the enlarged district is considered a con¬ 
solidation. 

4. A district lying between or contiguous to two consolidated dis¬ 
tricts may by election divide, and a part be annexed to each of the 
consolidated districts. 

5. A district adjacent or contiguous to a consolidated district may 
be annexed to the consolidated district if a petition signed by at least 
51 per cent of the legal electors of the district to be annexed is 
accepted by the board of the consolidated district and the annexation 
is approved by a majority vote of the qualified electors in the con¬ 
solidated district. 

6. A district may be annexed to a second-class city district by 
process of petition signed by at least 51 per cent of the legal voters 
of the district to be annexed and acceptance by the city board. 

7. Adjacent territory may be annexed to a city district for school 
purposes on application of a majority of the electors of such adjacent 
territory and acceptance by the city board of education. 

8. In any county operating under the provisions of the Barnes law 
of 1905—a law that permits a county, by election, to levy a tax for a 
general high-school fund to maintain high schools in districts or 
cities of less than 16,000 inhabitants—51 per cent of the legal electors 
in each of two or more districts may present petitions to their respec¬ 
tive school boards. The boards receiving the petitions shall meet, 
declare the districts consolidated, and notify the county superin¬ 
tendent. The superintendent records the boundary changes and calls 
an election for the purpose of electing a school board for the con¬ 
solidated district. The same kind of consolidation organization may 
be perfected by vote as well as petition. 

9. A district that has failed to maintain a school for two succeeding 
years must be attached to an adjacent one-room district or graded 
school or city district. 

10. If there is no bonded indebtedness, transfers of territory be¬ 
tween adjacent districts of equal school ranking are easily made. If 
there is bonded indebtedness, only a limited amount of territory may 
be set from one district to another, and neither district may be left 
with less than 15 children. 

11. Under certain conditions county superintendents may make 
changes in school districts. 

The number of consolidated schools in Kansas grew from 20 in 
1905, employing 42 teachers and enrolling 1,422 pupils, to 109 in 
1918, employing 466 teachers and enrolling 10,988 pupils. 

The movement has gained prominence in the last two years. Those 
who are promoting it interpret consolidation to mean— 

the joining of a number of school districts, sufficient to give a valuation of at 
least $2,000,000, thus assuring the maintenance of a good school without an 


104 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


excessive taxation; a school system for 12 grades, with adequate means of 
transportation for all children who walked the country roads, and a good school 
organization. 

A recent report entitled “ What People Say About Consolidation ” 
was recently published by the Department of School Consolidation, 
Kansas State Normal School, Emporia, Kans. 

For convenience in summarizing the report the consolidated schools 
are divided into three groups: 

Group 1,15 schools, each having an assessed valuation of $2,000,000 
or more, at least four grade and three high-school teachers, and trans¬ 
portation. 

Group II, 12 schools, each with an assessed valuation of between 
$1,500,000 and $2,000,000, four grade and three high-school teachers, 
and transportation. 

Group III, 52 schools not meeting in all particulars the above 
qualifications. 

Statistics of consolidated schools in Kansas. 



Group I. 

Group II. 

Group III. 

Ranee of area, in sq. miles. 

18J-132 

66.5 

134-164 

50.8 

6-140 

Average area, in sq. miles. 

40 

Total area in square miles. 

930.5 

457.75 

1,994 

Range of assessed valuation. 

/ $2,000,000- 
\ $8,500,000 

$3,182,740 
$44,558,345 
49 

$1,500,000- 
$1,810,000 
$1,469,934 
$19,639,208 
31 

$575,800- 

Average assessed valuation. 

$2,946,000 
$1,335,461 
$68,923,695 
91 

Total assessed valuation. . 

Number of one-room schools abandoned. 

Range of tax levy, in mills. 

5.5-13.5 

7-15 

3-19 

Average tax levy, in mills. 

8.6 

10.7 

9.9 

Range of superintendent’s salaries. 

$2,100-$3,000 
$2,389 
80 

$2 000-$2,760 
$2,243 
50 

$1,200-$2,700 
$1,945 
130 

Average superintendent’s salary. 

Number of high-school teachers. 

Average of high-school teachers' salaries. 

$1,483 

95 

$1,402 

56 

$1,315 

179 

Number of grade-schools teachers. 

Average of grade-school teachers’ salaries. 

$1,079 

1,165 

$1,063 

766 

$958 

Number of high-school pupils. 

1,960 

Number of grade-school pupils. 

3,045 

1,762 

5,591 



Nebraska .—In 1920 there were 100 consolidated schools, 66 formed 
under the consolidation law of 1915, and 34 formed under the redis¬ 
tricting act of 1919. One hundred five consolidations are reported 
in 1921. While the movement is firmly established in the State, it 
has only made a good start. One-half the consolidated schools are in 
the more thickly settled eastern one-third of the State. The stand¬ 
ard size of the district is 25 square miles. The assessed valuation 
ranges from $50,000 to $200,000, and that is approximately one-fifth 
of the true valuation. The school grounds range from 1 to 20 acres 
in size, the average being 3£ acres. The cost of the buildings ranges 
from $100 to $200,000, with an arithmetical mean of $27,378. All the 
schools are organized on the 8-4 plan. Only 15 of them offer nothing 
higher than the elementary course. Forty have a full four-year 
high-school course. 

























A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


105 


Fifty-five of the consolidations provide transportation for pupils 
in numbers ranging from 7 to 200. The average number of pupils 
to a conveyance is 19, the maximum is 48. The longest route is 18 
miles, the average, 9 miles. The range in cost of transportation is 
from 10 cents per pupil per day to $1.02, with a mean of approxi¬ 
mately 30 cents. In general, the daily attendance at the consolidated 
schools has been much better than in the other rural schools. 

For 72 of the 105 consolidated schools reported, seven important 
items were given in full. Disregarding the schools that did not give 
complete reports, a summary of the items for those that did is as 
follows: 


Area of districts.sq. miles.. 

1,741 

Minimum.do.... 

6 

Maximum.do_ 

Arithmetical mean 

64 

.sq. miles.. 

24.5 

Median.do_ 

23 

District valuation. 

$22,910,558 

Minimum. 

34,626 

Maximum. 

1, 941, 673 

Arithmetical mean. 

318,202 

Median. 

263,000 

Area of grounds.acres.. 

274 

Minimum.do- 

i 

Maximum.do_ 

Arithmetical mean 

20 

.acres.. 

3.8 

Median.do_ 

2.8 

Value of plant. 

$2, 285,695 

Minimum. 

400 

Maximum. 

200,000 


Value of plant—Continued. 


Arithmetical mean_ $31, 745 

Median. 12,500 

Years in operation: 

Minimum. 1 

Maximum. 23 

Arithmetical mean.... 3. 7 

Median. 2 

Tax levy: 

Minimum. $0.03 

Maximum. 1.00 

Arithmetical mean.... .37 

Median. .35 


Organization: 
Grades— 
8 ... 
9.. 
10 .. 
11 ... 
12 .. 


.schools.. 

4 

.. .do- 

4 

...do_ 

19 


11 

34 


The Nebraska law requires that the area of districts should, in 
most cases, approximate 25 square miles. Thirty-three of these dis¬ 
tricts have an area of less than 20 square miles, seven have more 
than 40. 

The range of taxable property valuation is great, but 34 of the 
districts are rated at less than $250,000. The arithmetical mean of 
the valuations is high because of 11 districts, a comparatively small 
number, that are rated at more than $500,000. 

There is great lack of uniformity also in the area of the grounds 
and the value of the school plants. Twenty-two of the schools have 
grounds of 2 acres. Eleven have more than 5 acres. Twenty-two of 
the school plants are worth $5,000 or less; 34 are worth $10,000 or 
less. Six are valued at more than $100,000. 

The tax levies range from 3 to 100 mills. In 49 districts the levy 
is for 20 to 40 mills. Thirty-five mills is the most common rate. 
































106 SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 

Of the same list of 105 schools 49 reported on transportation of 
pupils. Forty-two of these gave complete data for 10 items. The 


data are here summarized: 

Amount spent yearly for drivers’ salaries-$34, 296 

Minimum-i- 60 

Maximum_1___ 2,958 

Arithmetical mean per district- 816 

Number of grade pupils transported- 2,452 

Minimum_ 7 

Maximum_ 200 

Arithmetical mean_ 58 

Median_ 42 


NEBRASKA 




ROCK 


j r— 

LOUP jOARnELC/WHEELER?—- 


MAOISON*. 

!qb ijf 


CUMino 


Dawson 


BUFFALO ! NALL 


Otoe 


NAVES 


CLAY liLLMORS SALINE 


|NITCHCOCKjftEOWILLO« 


iNKLI^WteSTERj 


l i. I 

| oawcs ! 

I 00 ! 

SIOUX | --i, SHERIOAN * 

! ! j 

I BOX BUTTE I 

_ ) s ■ 

sco?^f* * r ** —•‘p*—j 

ObL! | j 0RANT 

-MORRILL I :- 


Cherry 


garden 


f *NNF■ 


O Q Q I 


0 jvALHrjO.HU.Yj_ j f j 0OO “ 'A 

• I-—{-—! ^ 

© a >«»“«, "o-a.o‘- me --;^-^, k j-~-j.jp--.'C, 
• T _.w._ )( -j /■ -?-•snpft 


ARTHUR 


MCPHERSON LOGAN 1 


Custer 


P "‘1 a 


t'.COLH 


legends 

Town Consolidation. ^ with high school. © 
Open Country 28 IU*h- high sohool. Q 


Map 15. —Showing the location and kinds of consolidated schools in Nebraska. 


Number of high-school pupils transported (39 schools)- 533 

Minimum_ 1 

Maximum_ 46 

Arithmetical mean_,_ 19 

Number of transportation routes_ 157 

Minimum_ 1 

Maximum_ 8 

Median___ 3i 

Average length of route: 

Minimum-:—miles 3 

Maximum-miles 18 

Arithmetical mean-miles__ 9 

Median-miles 8§ 






































A STATEMENT BY STATES. 107 

Average distance pupils ride one way: 

Minimum-miles— 2 \ 

Maximum_miles— 9 

Arithmetical mean_miles— 4.3 

Number of children per conveyance: 

Minimum_ 6 

Maximum_ 48 

Arithmetical mean_ 19 

Average number of minutes pupils are on road: 

Minimum_ 20 

Maximum- 60 

Arithmetical mean- 34 

Average cost per pupil per day: 

Minimum------- $0.15 

Maximum_ 1. 02 

Arithmetical mean- . 33 

Median- . 32 


The tenth item is in regard to the hour the children leave home 
in order to be at school. In no case is it earlier than 7.45 a. m. In 
most of the districts it is from 8 to 8.15. 

Minnesota .—At the close of the 1919-20 school year there were 255 
consolidated schools; in 1920-21 the number reached 290, and during 
the year 1922 nineteen more schools early made application for list¬ 
ing. In 1920-21 over 20,500 pupils were transported to consolidated 
schools, an increase of over 5,000 for the preceding year. The cost 
to the school districts was $905,036. Eleven hundred and fifty-three 
busses, of which 126 were motor driven, were maintained. Eleven 
hundred children were transported more than 5 miles to school. 

Most of the consolidations effected consist of rural territory with 
a village as a nucleus, although there are many splendid open country 
schools. Moreover, many of the villages are so small that a majority 
of the pupils enrolled come from farm homes and need to be trans¬ 
ported. Minnesota is still in the process of settlement. In the 
northern part of the State many districts have the area required by 
law for consolidation and qualify when the country becomes settled 
by erecting the better type of building and providing transportation. 
This condition is of decided advantage to the consolidation move¬ 
ment. It is much easier'to hold these large districts together as 
population increases by establishing in them strong and effective 
high or graded schools. 

In the more settled areas consolidation will be brought about only 
as a majority of people are convinced that the better school is worth 
more than the increased cost. The economic depression of 1921 
undoubtedly tended to retard the movement somewhat. 















108 SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND THAN SPOLIATION. 


MINNESOTA 



•/- LYON •BtO^OO I ^. N,COLLET T j | >V 

•• U O :- ’ \ C /“*««! R,CE L ' WAB ‘ SM >\ 

i | l__a_i m •• | • j '• ■i - 

SCnVi MUR " AV j C^TTOK^iV iBLj^C tARSVVASeCA^TEELe; 0 oOCEL 0 ^ STEC ki W " 


jBLUE CARG^ASeCAjSTEtLEjooOCEj^^ 516 ^ 


STONE ! *A IQ ----- |-l^l,v,e._ 

_i #<&[. _!^.nL__!.*. J._.J_L_ 

! * # i • j # l © ©! i © o' 

«OCK j NOBLES {•JACKSON {• MARTIN p^RIBAULT I EREEBORN ! MOvVR » 

U °\ • 9i m » *i «i i ! e °*> 


FILLMORE *.HOU8T< 

li 


Legend: 

Town Consolidation 0 With high school. ® 
open Country g| With high school, 0 


Map 16 .—Showing the location and kinds of consolidated schools in Minnesota 























BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 10 






0L 

- J.. • 





A. A chemistry laboratory. 



B. A class in sewing. 

INDOOR LABORATORIES IN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 
















BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 11 



A. A class in woodworking. 



B. A class in cooking. 

THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL CAN OFFER A BROADENED CURRICULUM. 

























BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 12 



A. Taking part in the annual pageant. 



B. Girls’ basket ball at a consolidated school. 



C. Ample grounds for all play activities. 
PLAYGROUND SCENES AT CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 




















BUREAU OF EDUCATION 


BULLETIN, 1923, NO. 41 PLATE 13 



A. A school orchestra. 



B. The stage in a consolidated school auditorium. 
OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES. 










A STATEMENT BY STATES, 


109 


Missouri .—Since the passage of the Buford-Colley Act in 1913 
consolidated schools have been forming at a fairly steady rate. For 
the years 1915 to 1920 the State department published special statis¬ 
tics for consolidation. They are as follows: 

MISSOURI 



loro Consolidation® With high school. 0 
Open country gg With high sohool .Q 

Map 17.—Showing the location and kinds of consolidated schools in Missouri. 


Statistics of consolidated schools of Missouri. 


Number of consolidated schools... 

Number reporting. 

Number maintaining high schools. 

Maintaining4-year high schools. 

Maintaining3-year high schools. 

Maintaining2-year high schools. 
Average monthly salary of princi¬ 
pal or superintendent. 

Average term, in months. 

Total area of districts, in square 

miles. 

Average area of districts, in square 
miles. 


1915 

1916 

1917 

1918 

1919 

1920 

83 

121 

139 

145 

162 

168 


106 

135 




66 

96 

116 

124 

139 

160 

9 

21 

27 

37 



18 

19 

36 

40 



39 

56 

53 

47 



$88.45 

$91.79 

$100.10 

$111.00 



8.2 

8.3 

8.6 

8.5 



2,311 

2,694 

3,104 

3,770 

4,158 


28.2 

26.1 

26.4 

26.0 

25.8 



52571°—23 - 8 

























































110 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


Statistics of consolidated schools of Missouri^ Continued. 


1915 


Total assessed valuation. 

$24,256,403 
$319,163 

Average assessed valuation. 

Average tax levy, in mills, in dis¬ 
tricts maintaining high schools.. 

Average tax levy7 in” mills for 
building. 

2.99 

Number of districts voting 
building tax. 

43 

Average levy in nulls for maintain¬ 
ing building. 

8.52 

Number of high-school teachers... 
High-school enrollment.. 

100 

1,814 

Number of grade teachers. 

375 

Grade enrollment. 

12,445 

Districts including incorporated 
towns. 

42 

Districts not including incorpo¬ 
rated towns. 

36 

Districts reporting one or more 
schools abandoned. 

Total cost of buildings. 


Average cost of buildings. 


Total number of roomsr. 



1916 

1917 

1918 

1919 

1920 

$35,989,143 

$42,628,368 

$49,198,083 

$62,761,319 


$342,753 

$386,255 

$364,430 

$394,725 

$501,428 

6.95 

7.49 

7.3 



3.17 

3.18 

3.3 



62 

71 




8.97 

9.09 

9.8 



156 

206 

245 


255 

2,428 

3,335 

3,345 


7,425 

506 

507 

637 



15,807 

19,048 

20,480 


20,943 

53 

74 

66 



50 

52 

71 



20 

47 

36 



$531,411 

$640,120 

$909,740 

$984,350 


$7,000 

$7,000 

$S,750 

$8,342 


517 

550 

624 




The statistics indicate a wholesome, rather slow, growth in con¬ 
solidation. 

No data are available for the number of children transported or 
the amount spent for transportation. The State report of 1919 is 
to the effect that three consolidated schools are transporting chil¬ 
dren to a central building, and transportation has been furnished 
in a few cases where elementary schools were discontinued. 

For the year 1921 the State superintendent reports: 15 

Despite the fact that our county unit law is held up by referendum, larger 
school units are being made by consolidation and union of smaller districts. 
The following table will show what has been done in one year, even though 
rural population is decreasing: 


Districts having average attendance. 


Year. 1 

Under 10. 

10-15 

15-25 

25-40 

Over 40. 

1920. 

862 

1,635 
1,545 

3,570 
3,490 

1,999 

1,420 

1921_ 

756 

2; 073 

1 ,510 




Increase or decrease. 

Dec.106 

Dec. 90 

Dec. 80 

In. 74 

In. 90 




South Dakota .—The State report for 1917 contains separate sta¬ 
tistics for three classes of schools—rural, independent, and consoli¬ 
dated. The following table is a compilation of the data for con¬ 
solidated schools for the four years, 1917 to 1920, inclusive. A 
considerable increase is shown in the year following the adoption of 
the favorable laws of 1919. 


16 Seventy-second Rep. Pub. Schools of Missouri, 1921, p. 105. 
























































A STATEMENT BY STATES, 


111 


Consolidated schools of South Dakota. 



1917 

1918 

1919 

1920 

Number of consolidated schools. 

30 

$844.38 
50 
3,814 
$369,823 

136 

$103.20 

$65.06 

4,087 

2,949 

541 

2,336 

187 

52 

$291,840 

41 

$950.86 
56 
5,114 
$661,305 

195 

$109.30 

$71.68 
5,234 

3,632 

782 

2,831 

217 

59 

$451,374 

52 

$1,273.82 

79 

7,219 

$771,116 

227 

$146.44 

$92.14 
7,522 

4,667 

949 

4,194 

291 

78 

$774,077 

U39 

Average salary of superintendent. 

Number of schoolhouses. 

193 

Seating capacity. 

Value of school property. 

$1,685,896 
/ s 288 

\ 2 164 

/ 3 $1,076 

\ 3 1,550 

/ 3 $900 

\ 2 $1,147 

11,320 

7,418 

1,360 

Number of teachers. 

Average annual salary of teachers: 

Male. 

Female. 

School census. 

Enrollment: 

Grades. 

High school. 

Average daily attendance. 

Number of graduates: 

Ninth grade. 

519 

75 

$1,447,177 
2,388 
142 
$101.34 
22 
15 
54 
9 

$120,089 

Fourth-year high school. 

Total expenditure. 

Number ofpupils transported. 

Number of vehicles used. 




Average salarv of drivers. 




Number of one-room schools. 




Number of two-room schools. 




Number with more than two rooms. 




Teachers’ cottages. 




Amount spent for transportation. 









1 87 districts. 3 Grade schools. 3 High schools. 


1 87 districts. 1 Grade schools. 3 High schools. 

Summary of statistics of consolidated schools, 1922. 

Total number of consolidated schools_ 186 

Number in open country_ 42 

Number in town or village_ 92 

Number with two-year high school or less_ 4S 

Number with three-year high school_ 21 

Number with four-year high school_ 50 

Districts receiving State aid for consolidated high schools_ 12 

Districts receiving State aid for first-class consolidated schools_ 11 

Districts receiving State aid for second-class consolidated schools— 30 

Counties having consolidations- 58 

Total enrollment_ 16,113 

Average enrollment_ 118. 47 

Enrollment of— 

50 or less_ 38 

51 to 100_—_ 42 

101 to 150_ 22 

151 to 200_ 9 

201 to 250_ 10 

251 and over_ 15 

Total number of teachers-..- 764 

Total area of districts, in square miles- 6, 558 

Districts having areas of— 

16 square miles or less_ 10 

17 to 25 square miles_ 21 

26 to 36 square miles- 63 

37 to 49 square miles_ 10 

50 to 64 square miles_ 6 

65 to 81 square miles_-—*- 8 

81 or more square miles- 7 

Total value of buildings-$4, 401,141 






























































112 SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 

Wisconsin .—The State school code of 1919 retains all of the meth¬ 
ods of centralization, with the exception of the township unit, that 
have gradually formed in the law and custom of the State. They 
are: The determination of district boundaries by town, village, or 
city boards; uniting of schools within districts by district boards; 
the establishment of State graded schools; consolidation of two or 
more districts into one by vote of the electors; temporary suspension 
of a school and the attendance of its pupils at some other school; 
the establishment of union free high schools and junior high schools; 
and the transfer of pupils with payment of tuition from districts 
not furnishing opportunity for secondary education to those main¬ 
taining high schools. 

The State gives aid to help erect and equip buildings for consoli¬ 
dated schools, to maintain State graded schools, to district free high 
schools and union and consolidated high schools, for vocational and 
teacher-training courses, for winter terms in high schools, to rural 
schools, to small districts, to rural-school teachers who stay in the 
same rural school more than one year, and for transportation of 
pupils. 

In 1920 Wisconsin maintained 8,951 schools in 8,233 school build¬ 
ings for an enrollment of 465,243. There were 6,606 one-room 
schools. In the last 20 years there has been a definite decrease in 
the average number of pupils for a one-room school. In 1900, 
894 such schools enrolled over 60 pupils each; in 1910 the number 
of schools with so high an enrollment was reduced to 170, and in 
1920 to 79. The number of schools enrolling fewer than 5 increased 
from 21 in 1900 to 104 in 1920. By 1921 there were 310 district 
high schools, 13 high schools operating under city charters, 70 
union high schools, and 4 formed in consolidated schools. 

The State superintendent, in his report for that year, character¬ 
ized the consolidation laws as inadequate, stated that consolidation 
was going on in a haphazard way that was causing injury to some 
areas, and recommended that the “ majority vote in each district ” 
clause of the law be changed. He suggested that “A consolidation 
survey of an entire county by competent persons, such as a county 
board of education, would permit a unified plan. The-entire State 
could thus be districted into areas suited to consolidation and those 
not adapted for it.” He reported that 28,119 pupils live more than 
2 miles from the schools, and advises an extension of the trans¬ 
portation laws. 

A partial report in 1922 for 34 of the 80 consolidated schools 
shows 18 in the open country, 10 in rural villages, and 2 in larger 
towns. The average size of the grounds is 1.3 acres, the average 
cost of buildings $5,945. Nine have separate auditoria; eight have 
manual training, domestic science, and agriculture laboratories. 


A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


113 


There are 41 conveyances used to carry 722 pupils over an average 
distance one way of 3 miles at a cost of 25 cents per day. The 
total enrollment is 2,469 pupils. 

South Carolina .—By constitutional provision a school district 
may not be less than 9 square miles nor more than 49, except in 
cities of 10,000 population and over. The district schools are ad¬ 
ministered by a county board of education, of which the county 
superintendent, chosen by popular election, is a member. Local 
school trustees may consolidate the schools within a district. Dis¬ 
tricts may be consolidated upon petitions of one-third the qualified 
voters of each district. For the years 1912-1920, inclusive, the 
State reports show 288 districts consolidated into 112, and 548 
schools united to form 185, with 323 schools discontinued because 
of consolidation. Data for transportation of pupils are not given 
after 1918. The number of white one-room schools decreased from 
1,985 in 1911 to 1,915 in 1921. Then, through the influence of the 
rural graded-school act, an act that is considered as the real basis 
of the consolidation movement in South Carolina, rural graded 
schools increased from 58 in 1912 to 935 in 1920. In the latter 
year they enrolled 96,294 pupils. In 1910, 835 districts levied local 
taxes for school purposes and raised $494,266; in 1920, 1,770 dis¬ 
tricts levied such taxes, with a resulting income of $2,669,604. 
Much of the increase in local taxation is due to meeting the require¬ 
ments of the rural graded-school act. 

Oklahoma .—Centralization in Oklahoma has been carried on 
along three lines, and the term is used in the State to include three 
types of school districts: 

1. Union graded districts, a partial consolidation for the upper 
grades, formed by a union of districts each of which maintains its 
own corporate existence and may continue its primary school. 

2. Consolidated school districts, formed by uniting two or more 
adjacent school districts into one by a process of election and a 
majority vote in each of the uniting districts. 

3. Independent districts. Each city of the first class and each 
incorporated town maintaining a four-year high school accredited 
by the State university constitutes an independent school district. 

The tendency is for union graded districts to become consolidated 
districts and for consolidated districts to become independent as 
soon as they can meet the necessary conditions. In the years 1919, 
1921, and 1922, respectively, 50, 70, and 88 union graded and con¬ 
solidated districts reported as independent districts. 

On October 1, 1922, there were reported 87 union graded districts, 
287 consolidated districts, 14 independent and large common-school 
districts that transport pupils to school, making a total of 388 cen¬ 
tralized districts. 


114 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


The educational survey commission of 1922 reports: 16 

The people of Oklahoma are to be commended for the progress they have 
made in the consolidation of schools in the face of serious financial obstacles. 
The movement has been advanced in a marked degree and quite general 
throughout the State. The State department of education and county super¬ 
intendents have apparently cooperated with unusual success both in the num¬ 
ber of schools centralized and in their distribution throughout the State. All 
but five counties have either consolidated or union graded schools, or inde¬ 
pendent districts which transport children from rural communities. Several 
counties—Jackson, Tulsa, Greer, for example—seem to have pushed the move- 


OKLAHOMA 



I»£GEiro! 

H Consolidated School Districts. 

O Union Graded Sohool Districts. 

Map 18.—Showing centralization in Oklahoma by consolidated districts and union graded 

districts. 

ment or to have completed plans for doing so to as great a degree as is prac¬ 
ticable under present conditions. 

Assistance from the State has been effective both in spreading propaganda 
in favor of the centralization idea and in making plans for the distribution 
of consolidated districts within the counties. 

Fewer errors have been made in the way of leaving out from the boundaries 
of such districts isolated strips of territory than in many States because of 

io << public Education in Oklahoma.” A report of a survey of public education in the 
State of Oklahoma, made at the request of the Oklahoma State Educational Survey Com¬ 
mission, under the direction of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1922, 
pp. 242-243. 
























A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


115 


this careful planning of the county superintendents and the State rural super¬ 
visors in most of the counties in which consolidation has proceeded to an 
appreciable degree. These officials have cooperated in arranging for sane 
county-wide plans before any centralizations were consummated. 

The survey committee found that in some cases consolidation had 
been stimulated too much; assessed valuations in many districts were 
too low to support good graded and high schools; small high schools 
were attempting to offer too many subjects and were often main¬ 
tained at the expense of the grades; principalships and superinten¬ 
dencies were being established unnecessarily; and the cost of trans¬ 
portation was in some districts too high a percentage of the total 
maintenance charge. 

The committee recommends the formation of larger consolidated 
districts with higher assessed valuations, that the elementary schools 
be the first consideration, that there be better organization of high 
schools with concentration on fewer subjects, that State aid, espe¬ 
cially for transportation, be increased, that regular and summer 
courses for training administrators for consolidated schools be given 
in the university and agricultural college, and that the State adopt 
the county unit plan of administration. 

Teachers’ homes have been provided by a large number of the centralized 
districts, 159 centralized districts having reported on this item in 1921-22. Of 
these, 52 have teacher homes and 94 have auditoriums in connection with, or 
as part of, the school building. 

There are 347 teachers’ homes in the State owned or rented by the districts 
and occupied by superintendents, principals, teachers, or janitors. Five of 
these homes are occupied by negro teachers and maintained in connection with 
schools for colored children. 11 

Arkansas .—The following statement is taken from the Arkansas 
Survey Report, Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C., 1922: 

Arkansas has made a small beginning toward consolidating small schools in 
rural communities. The “ consolidated ” school, as it is coming to be inter¬ 
preted in the minds of students of the subject and in the States which are now 
making the greatest progress in this direction, is one in which not only all 
elementary grades but an approved four-year high school is maintained. An 
adequate taxing unit and a sufficient number of children to make such a high 
school possible are also requisites of a standard consolidated school. 

There are in the State 170 schools reported which are called “ consolidated.” 
Of these, however, the majority are very small schools and can scarcely be con¬ 
sidered as living up to the real meaning of a consolidated school. Thirty-two 
of the total number have four or more teachers; and 14 include in their educa¬ 
tional program a four-year high school. There are at present no data to show 
how many of these are approved high schools. Unfortunately there is a tend¬ 
ency in Arkansas to call a group of ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade children 
in charge of one or two teachers in a school with no adequate equipment a high 
school. It is apparent that this does not constitute a real high school. Usually 
a school of this sort offers few advantages to the children enrolled in the 


17 “ Public Education in Oklahoma,’’ p. 251. 




116 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


higli-school subjects and is continued at a serious cost in the efficiency of the 
work done in the grades. 

Arkansas is a State in which progress in consolidation is practicable and in¬ 
expensive. The rural population is reasonably concentrated, especially in the 
delta section. In fact, there are few counties, and those mostly in the northern 
mountain district, in which consolidation is not practicable. In all of the 
counties visited by the committee, country schools in charge of one or two 
teachers were found with very large enrollments; many one-teacher schools en¬ 
rolled 60 to 100 children and were located within a mile or two of each other. 
The most cursory observation discloses numerous possibilities of centralizing 
schools which apparently have so far received little or no consideration. 

The committee is convinced that the lack of progress in this particular is one 
of several indications of the need of strong educational leadership. Unless 
people understand the deficiencies of the one and two teacher schools, progress 
toward consolidation on any adequate scale can scarcely be expected. The 
rural people themselves, as well as superintendents and teachers, must have 
clearly in mind educational ideals and standards to guide them in knowing good 
from poor schools. 

Probably the best method to promote consolidation in Arkansas, as soon 
as the people understand its advantage, is through the redistricting of the 
counties by county boards of education. More and more progressive people 
are beginning to understand that education is not solely a local matter, es¬ 
pecially as concerned with large administrative problems. The real interests 
of the children can not be best served while it is so considered. Consolidation 
by agreement among districts is very good so far as it goes, but it does not 
go far enough. Some small sections or some isolated families are almost 
sure to be left outside of the boundaries of a consolidated district formed in 
this way. A better distribution of taxing valuation and of children, and 
more just and equitable, as well as more economical, arrangements for location 
of buildings, maintenance of schools, transportation, and the like will be 
secured if the county as a whole, rather than the individual district, is con¬ 
sidered when plans for centralizing schools are made. 

A summary of data for the consolidated schools of the State 


in 1921 is as follows: 

1. Consolidated schools_ 170 

a. In towns_ 21 

b. In villages_ 56 

c. In open country_ 93 

а. With two teachers_ 60 

б. With three teachers_ 58 

c. With four teachers_ 15 

d. With five or more teachers__ 87 

2. Consolidated schools giving liigh-school courses (included in 1 

above)_ 113 

a. One year- 50 

b. Two years_ 37 

c. Three years_ 32 

d. Four years- 14 

3. Average area of school grounds_,_acres_ 3. 7 

4. Average cost of school buildings___ $7, 060 

5. Number of teachers’ cottages_ 32 

6. Value of teachers’ cottages_$82,100 

7. Number of pupils transported_ 1 ,032 




















A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


117 


Montana .—In 1920 there were 69 consolidated schools; 86 in 
1921. The population is so scattered and distances are so great that 
centralization is being furthered by a policy of providing school 
dormitories, especially for high schools. There are 24 dormitories 
in use for 500 or more children. 

MONTANA 



Daniels 

m 


lerldanl 

© © • 1 


Roosevelt 


mCMLAHO. 


/\_ _H cCone 


j., Dawson 


1 Garfield 


Ho.! \ 

, i « £ '?&®aelsheliu. 


Rosebud 


I ycL”wsTOMtr 

i ■■■■( 


Powder 

River 


Carter 


CARBON 


\ "IBaeln j 
\ HR©©©/ 


r«t- 

*tcacmcR| J; aS 


LEGEND: 

Town Consolidation • With High School © 

Open Country ■ With High School □ 

Map 19. —Showing the location and kinds of consolidated schools in Montana. 

A summary for 1921 of the situation in the State in regard to 
consolidation is as follows: 

Data for 86 consolidated schools. 

Number of schools: 

86 consolidated schools, of which 19 are in the open country, 53 in rural vil¬ 
lages, and 14 in larger towns. 

3,079 one-teacher schools (1919-20). 

57 consolidated schools with high school; 29 have elementary grades only. 

Pupils and transportation: 

12,127 pupils in consolidated schools, about 10 per cent of the total enrollment 
in all elementary and high schools in the State. There are 10,367 ele¬ 
mentary pupils and 1,780 high-school pupils in consolidated schools. This 
represents an average of 120 grade children and 31 high-school pupils per 
school. 

3,293 pupils transported an average distance of 4.3 miles in 46 minutes average 
time. The longest distance reported is 18 miles, and the longest time on 
road 3 hours. 







118 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


160 conveyances used, making an average of 20.6 pupils per conveyance. 
Drivers receive an average salary of $93.30 a month. The average cost of 
transportation is 33 cents per pupil per day. 

A few more than one-half (88) of the conveyances are district owned. Less 
than one-half (73) of the drivers are selected by the board rather than 
chosen by competitive bids. 

$99.31 is the yearly per capita cost for pupils enrolled in consolidated schools. 
Teachers: 

491 teachers, 324 in elementary schools and 167 in high schools. There is an 
average of 32 pupils per grade teacher and 10.5 pupils per high-school 
teacher. There is an average of 3.76 teachers for each grade school and 
2.93 teachers for each high school. 

134 teachers are college graduates; 147 are normal graduates. 

130 have one year of preparation beyond High school and 39 are graduates of 
high-school training departments. Only 93 teachers, or less than 20 per 
cent, have taught at least three years in consolidated schools. Teachers 
remain an average of only 1.76 years in the same school. 

$1,361.28 is the average salary of teachers, more than half (56 per cent) receiv¬ 
ing from $1,000 to $1,500. In one-teacher schools the average salaries of 
teachers in 1919-20 was $803.19. 

Success: 

A majority of the 31 county superintendents (22) in whose counties the con¬ 
solidated schools are located report that transportation has proven satis¬ 
factory to teachers, to pupils, to patrons, and to themselves. 

Consolidation without transportation, or by means of a dormitory, has been 
started in a few schools, with varying success. 

Wyoming .—The general situation in the State is described in the 
biennial report of the State department for 1920: 

Wyoming is largely a rural State, and the rural problem is the most difficult 
one. Distances are great and the population much scattered. Great areas of 
the State are served by one-room rural schools, often having but a few pupils. 
In a number of instances a ranch family is so far removed from neighbors that 
no community school is possible, and the teacher becomes a resident and 
instructs the children in their own home. In still other instances, a woman 
living near enough to one or two ranch families receives the children into her 
home for their schooling. In the mountainous districts schools are inaccessible 
in the winter, and summer schools are the rule. The effort to bring instruc¬ 
tion suited to his needs to the country child thus meets unusual difficulties, 
but they are not insurmountable. 

There is very little consolidation. It is being effected slowly along 
three lines. In some of the counties small districts have combined, 
not so much for the purpose of establishing central schools as to 
have larger administrative and tax units. The formation of high- 
school districts under the terms of the law of 1905 constitutes 
another type. The closing of small schools to form a central 
graded school to which the children are transported has occurred 
in very few cases in the State. 


A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


119 


A special report for the year 1922 says: 

The State department estimates that 25 per cent of the one-room rural 
schools in the State could be consolidated, and is actively engaged in a con¬ 
solidation campaign at the present time. Certain sections of the State, such as 
the Big Horn Basin, Goshen Hole, Sheridan County, the Wheatland Flats, and 
Laramie County, are ideally situated for the carrying out of the consolidation 
projects; in all these sections consolidation is either under way or being 
considered. 

WYOMING 



LEGEHI:- 

Town Consolidation # With High Sohool © 

Open Country ■ With High School 0 

Consolidation for High School purposes 

only 

Map 20.—Showing the complete consolidations and, partial consolidations for high-school 

purposes in Wyoming. 

Administrative consolidation is also moving forward with the county unit as 
a goal. Some legislation is needed to make this goal readily attainable. If 
present experiments in the operation of dormitories in connection with our 
so-called “county” high schools are a success, the growth of this type of 
consolidated school will be much accelerated. On the whole, it may be said 
that consolidation is a live educational issue in Wyoming and that the next 
five years will see considerable development along these lines. 

In 1920 eleven consolidated schools were reported. 





















120 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION 


IDAHO 



LEGEND: 

Town Consolidation • With High School © 

Open Country ■ With High School S 

Map 21. — Showing the location and kinds of consolidated schools in Idaho. 


0 












A STATEMENT BY STATES. 121 

Idaho .—A summary of data given in a special study of 1918 is as 


follows: 

Consolidated schools_ 17 

a. In open country_ 3. 

b. In rural village_ 10 

c. In town_ 4 

Size of grounds, in acres_._ J-15 

Average cost of plant_$21, 060 

Auditoria_ 6 

Agricultural laboratories_ 5 

Manual work shops_1__ (5 

Home economics laboratories_ 6 


Thirteen of the districts were using 63 conveyances to transport 
1,526 children, at an average cost of 19 cents per pupil per day. 
Drivers were paid an average salary of $58 a month. 

With the exception of one, the schools were organized on the 8-4 
plan; 14 of them enrolled 3,227 elementary-school pupils; 12 offered 
one or more years of liigh-school work and enrolled 723 high-school 
pupils; 8 of the 12 were giving full four-year high-school courses. 
As far as data were available, the cost per student was greater in the 
consolidated schools than it had been previous to consolidation. 

A report for February, 1922, says: 

In 1918 in Idaho there were 21 consolidated districts. In January, 1922, 
there were 42 organizations of this kind. The first consolidated district in the 
State was a joint consolidated district of Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, 
located at Cataldo, which was established in 1900. The second consolidated 
district was established at Malad in 1903. Twenty-two of the 44 counties now 
have one or more consolidated school districts. As to the expense for transpor¬ 
tation I am not able to give you figures at this time. The topography of the 
State of Idaho is very varied, and for this reason consolidation in certain parts 
of the northern section is not at all feasible, while in the southern part of the 
State consolidation is growing very x*apidly. It is being carried on at the 
present time by cooperation between the county superintendent, the citizens, 
and the local school boards of the districts concerned. 

Oregon .—In a sketch on consolidation of schools in Oregon 18 the 
director of the extension division of the State university says: 

Consolidation or centralization of schools, most broadly interpreted, already 
exists in Oregon under several forms, as follows: County high schools, union 
high schools, the county high-school tuition fund, large undivided school dis¬ 
tricts, consolidations to prevent “ lapsing,” one-teacher consolidations, and 
actual union of districts to secure graded-school advantages with or without 
high schools. 

County high schools now maintained in six counties are high schools located 
usually at the county seat maintained by county tax and free to all qualified 
pupils in the county. Every one of them has been established first as the 
only high school in a sparsely settled county. With the growth in such counties 
of other centers of population, there has been a tendency toward the establish- 


is Commonwealth. Review of the University of Oregon, Vol. IV, Apr., 1922, pp. 67-70. 














122 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


ment of local high schools and toward efforts by communities outside the 
county seat to secure the disestablishment of the county high school or to 
obtain a share of its support for the smaller local high schools. Under a 
provision of law passed in 1921 to the effect that the qualified electors of any 
county may establish and maintain more than one county high school, it is 
possible, but by no means assured, that some of these counties may develop 
liigh-school systems which will bring secondary school advantages within reach 
of most of the homes of the county. Valuable as are the county high schools, 
they can hardly be counted as part of the permanent consolidation of the State, 
as they are on a county rather than a community basis. 

Union high schools are consolidations of common-school districts for high- 
school purposes only. Since the first union at Pleasant Hill in 1908, many 
unions have been proposed and some have been established. For several 
years following 1908 there was in force in some counties an optional law, 
known as the “ Lane County plan,” which favored the establishment of small 
high schools through a differential in their favor in the distribution of the 
proceeds of a county high-school tuition fund levy. Several small union high 
schools established under the protection of this provision did not survive its 
repeal, and the tendency of late has been toward the organization of union 
high schools only where a union of districts with a relatively high valuation 
can be formed. There are in operation or recently authorized in the State at 
least 49 union high schools. 

Transportation of pupils is not usually a feature of union high-school organi¬ 
zation in Oregon, although in most districts many pupils have to come con¬ 
siderable distances by their own means of conveyance. Consolidation of 
common schools has not usually followed union for high-school purposes. 

The county high-scliool tuition fund provides that in every county in which 
there is no county high school a special tax must be levied annually by the 
county court upon all the taxable property in the county not situated in any 
high-school district. From the proceeds of this tax there is apportioned by the 
county superintendent to each high-scliool district having territory in his 
county, and to each high-school district in any other county educating higli- 
school pupils residing in his county, the total cost to each of such high-scliool 
districts of educating high-school pupils who reside in his county outside of any 
liigh-school district as shown in his report for the preceding year. The effect 
of the provisions of this law is to open the high schools to all qualified students, 
even to those who reside in districts that have not voted to maintain liigh- 
school instruction. In one sense, therefore, considering this law and the county 
liigh-school law together as covering all the counties, Oregon may be said to 
have state-wide high school consolidation. Manifestly these laws do not guar¬ 
antee accessibility, nor does the tuition fund law promote any particular loyalty 
to any particular high school on the part of outlying districts. The tuition fund 
tax has in most counties advanced sharply from year to year and is frequently 
used as an argument for the organization of union liigh-school districts. 

Large undivided school districts, maintaining central schools with most of 
the characteristics of good consolidated schools, are few in Oregon, but several 
such do exist, particularly in Hood River County. 

Forced consolidation, or the combination of districts because of the failure 
of school population, is of course a fairly common phenomenon. This procedure 
is usually to be preferred to permitting the weak districts to “ lapse ” and 
thus become unorganized territory, but it does not result in any change in 
school facilities which would justify the use of the term “ consolidated 
school.” 


A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


123 


One-room consolidated schools, formed by the union of two or more one- 
room schools, are not unknown in Oregon. The motive is usually that of 
economy. 

Graded school union not common in Oregon .—Union to secure graded-school 
advantages has not as yet been extensively practiced in Oregon. 

The State superintendent writes: 

From the report of the county superintendents for the past biennium we 
learn of much progress in nearly all of the counties for the betterment of 
the rural school. At the request of this department, each county super- 

OREGON 



LEGEND: 

Town Consolidation • With High School © 

Open Country • With High School 3 

Ma p 22.—Showing the location and kinds of consolidated schools in Oregon. 

intendent has made *a survey of his county to determine just how many 
problems of feasible consolidation he has, and how many of his districts 
must remain for some time at least the one-room rural-school problem. 

Nearly every county in the State now has its problem of consolidation under 
way and we now have the assurance that consolidation will be an out¬ 
standing feature in rural-school progress during the next biennium. The 
total number of consolidations for elementary schools to date is 77, with an 
enrollment of 5,585 pupils, employing 348 teachers. Forty of these schools 













124 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


provide transportation. Within the last year the following consolidations 
for elementary schools were reported: 


School consolidations lor elementary grades in Oregon for the biennium 

1921-22. 


County. 

Consoli¬ 

dated 

districts. 

Districts 

in 

consoli¬ 

dation. 

Average 

assessed 

valuation. 

Average 

number 

of 

teachers. 

Average 

enroll¬ 

ment. 

Districts 

provid¬ 

ing 

transpor¬ 

tation. 

Clackamas. 

1 

2 

$3,401,760 

27 

900 


Clatsop. 

2 

4 

1,080,333 

3 

75 

1 

Coos. 

1 

2 

277, 755 

2 

35 

l 

Curry. 

3 

7 

392, 861 

2 

56 

2 

Douglas. 

7 

20 

1,702,185 

5 

93 

5 

Gilliam. 

1 

3 

751,398 

2 

40 

1 

Harney. 

2 

4 

130,412 

2 

35 

2 

Jackson. 

4 

S 

540, 592 

3 

49 

2 

Josephine. 

2 

4 

295, 782 

2 

61 

2 

Lane. 

3 

9 

480,100 

2 

37 

3 

Lincoln. 

1 

2 

489,450 

2 

35 


Linn. 

1 

3 

1 832,980 

3 

114 


Malheur. 

1 

2 

30, 330 

1 

12 


Marion. 

1 

3 

1,912,766 

3 

69 


Morrow. 

2 

4 

572,098 

3 

85 

1 

Tillamook. 

2 

4 

3,025,500 

7 

277 

2 

Union. 

1 

3 

781,976 

2 

31 


Wasco. 

2 

4 

783,397 

3 

19 

2 


In addition to the above consolidations, 25 districts, acting under the law 
permitting a district by a majority to suspend its school and transport its 
pupils, are sending their pupils into districts maintaining more closely graded 
schools. 

The one-room rural school will continue to be a part of Oregon’s system, 
and for the improvement of that school we should devote much time and atten¬ 
tion. Every proposed consolidation in Oregon is a problem of its own into 
which may enter a far larger number of conditions than is found in a problem 
of consolidation in the prairie States of the Middle West. Many of our already 
large school districts, sparsely settled, having roads impassable for a part of 
the year, will not admit of a consolidation that will bring better school condi¬ 
tions. A natural division, such as a mountain valley in which there are a few 
pupils, can not be joined to another valley several miles away and separated 
by a winding, precipitous mountain trail or x*oad. 18 

Washington .—Consolidation is making steady progress in the 
State. In 1910 there were reported 120 schools. In 1920 there were 
274 consolidated schools and 23 additions to established districts. 
Forty consolidations were effected during the year. 

A special report, says: 

The consolidated districts have attacked the transportation problem ener¬ 
getically, with the result that great improvement has been made in the last few 
years. Many districts are still transporting pupils to school in school wagons, 
many more have motor trucks of modern type, a few furnish car fare and inter- 
urban fare, at least two districts operate gasoline launches, and one hires a 
rowboat during the summer months. In some districts parents are paid to 
take their children to school, and others provide barns and stalls for ponies. 
The majority of districts which have been furnishing transportation for a 


10 Twenty-fifth Bien. Rep. Supt. Pub. Instruc., Oregon, 1923, pp. 11-12. 






































A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


125 


number of years report satisfactory results. The children, properly cared for 
and supervised, are taken to school regularly each day in well-ventilated, 
heated busses. Tardiness and absence evils have almost disappeared. The 
health of the pupils, especially in the cold and rainy seasons, is better. 

In this State consolidation has proven a success. The consolidation of many 
small districts has resulted in the founding of excellent graded schools, good 
high schools, has attracted better trained teachers, and promoted greater com¬ 
munity interest. 

WASHINGTON 



JIFFtWON 


MA* 0 * 


MAYS tMftBOA | 




itew.s 


franklin 


COLUMBI, 


KLICl 




CKAROOAN 


1 

i 

iHns joreillc 


6KAQI1 


- 




'•ISLAND 




SNOHOMISH 


\ 1 


i- • 


CHELAN 


* 






KITTITAS 


WHITM 


LEGEND: - 

0 Consolidated Sohools. 

Map 23.—Showing the consolidated schools of Washington. 

The consolidation movement is progressing carefully and intelligently. It is 
not too much to hope that the greatest possible educational advantages will be 
taken to the rural districts by consolidation as the movement becomes more 
widespread and its benefits are better known. 

Established under the terms of the law providing for wider use 
of the school plant (see p. 44) there were 608 community centers in 
1920, of which 140 were independent, 171 rural-district group centers 
with no town included, 275 centers including a town and adjacent 
districts, and 22 districts not included in other center organizations. 

West Virginia .—An extensive campaign for consolidation was 
carried on in the years 1918-1920. In 1920 there were 140 schools 


52571°—23-9 













126 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


classified as follows: Two-room, 83; three-room, 12; four-room, 26; 
six-room, 11; eight-room, 8. 

A special report says: 

There are two distinct types of rural consolidation in West Virginia, namely: 

(а) The consolidation of several small schools at a central point, where the 
children are transported an average distance of 3 miles, the longest haul one 
way being 41 miles. In a few communities children are transported by train or 
by electric cars, the board of education paying for such transportation at a 
redyced rate per mile. The largest consolidated schools of this type are at 
Sherrard, Marshall County, an agricultural community where six schools were 
consolidated, and at Gary, McDowell County, a mining community, where seven 
schools were consolidated, part of the pupils being transported by wagon, part 
by auto bus, and part by railroad. Sherrard is a farm village of 29 families. 
Gary is a mining town of 1,000 inhabitants. The school in this community is 
located one-fourth mile from the town. The sole industry, saving gardening, 
is mining. Both of these schools are also first-class high schools; both have 
auditoriums; and both teach domestic arts. They are the centers of many com¬ 
munity activities. There are several other smaller schools of this type. 

(б) The most “typical” type of school consolidation is found in Wayne 
County. It is the consolidation of three or four rural schools into a graded 
school of from two to six rooms, where transportation is unnecessary. I say it 
is the most typical because the topography of the State is such and the roads 
are such that transportation on a large scale is impracticable. Even where 
roads shall have been built the mountains of West Virginia will forever bar 
school consolidation in many communities on a large scale. 

In Wayne County within the past seven years 60 one-room schools have been 
consolidated into 30 small graded schools of from two to four rooms. The only 
reason why more schools have not been consolidated is that the boards of educa¬ 
tion have been unable under our old law to raise any more funds for the new 
buildings. The people want the schools consolidated, and now that additional 
funds may be raised consolidation will be speeded up. 

The children all live within walking distance of these consolidated schools, 
and therefore no transportation is necessary. However, the children in the two 
upper grades of schools farther out attend these graded schools, coming in their 
own conveyances. All of these schools are centers of a great many community 
activities, so that while the schools are small, as consolidated schools go, yet 
they provide the essential advantages of the larger type of consolidated school. 

For most of the area of West Virginia the latter type of school is the more 
practicable. However, there are certain counties where all conditions are 
favorable to consolidation on a larger scale, and with such legal authority as 
our new school code contains we anticipate a speeding up of consolidation of 
the former type. 

STATES HAVING RELATIVELY LITTLE CONSOLIDATION. 

New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada are States 
that have relatively very little rural-school consolidation. All of 
them have some form of school districts as the unit of local school 
control. The first three enroll one-fifth of the public elementary and 
secondary school enrollment of the United States; the last two about 
2 per cent. 


A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


127 


New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas have an estimated rural- 
school enrollment of 1,778,000, or about one-seventh of the rural 
enrollment of the United States. Nearly all of New York and Penn¬ 
sylvania and most of east Texas have a rural population of more 
than 18 to the square mile. These, areas are relatively densely popu¬ 
lated, and natural conditions are such that school consolidation is 
practicable; but the three States report 24,380 one-room schools, 
about 13 per cent of all those in the United States. The small num¬ 
ber of centralized schools in them is to be accounted for by the kind 
of school systems that have been established and the public attitude 
toward education rather than any natural obstacles. 

Arizona, Nevada, and much of west Texas are most sparsely set¬ 
tled. Distances between schools are often very great, and some one- 
room schools are absolutely necessary. For these areas the claim is 
made that natural conditions preclude any great amount of consoli¬ 
dation. However, Utah with equally great natural obstacles has its 
schools highly centralized and is making use of very few one-room 
schools. In these States also the fact that there are so few consolida¬ 
tions must in some degree be attributed to the kind of school system 
and to public opinion. 

New York .—The first consolidation law of New 'York was en¬ 
acted in 1853. In 1896 school commissioners were given direct power 
to consolidate districts without the consent of the local trustees and 
with no review by the town board. In 1920 there were 354 consoli¬ 
dated schools reported. In some 80 j^ears of legal authorization for 
consolidation, and at least 27 years of that time with the commis¬ 
sioners holding full power to enforce consolidation, central schools 
have been organized at an average rate of some three a year, and the 
State ranks fourth from highest in number of one-room schools. 
There is a daily attendance of less than 10 in 3,611 of them. The 
amount spent for transportation is relatively very low, one-half 
of 1 per cent of the total current expense of maintaining the schools. 

The joint committee on rural schools in its recent report 20 says: 

The rural people of New York State are in a great many cases—one might 
say in the majority of cases—opposed to consolidation of schools, and even 
to the redefining of district lines. To be sure, the farmer knows that the 
little school can not carry his child very far on the road to knowledge; it cer¬ 
tainly can not give the child a high-school education. He knows that a little 
school with small attendance is very expensive per pupil. He knows that the 
equipment is meager and the teacher usually less well qualified for his or 
her work than the teachers in the schools of the neighboring towns. But 
the farmer will resist to the bitter end any movement on the part of the 
district superintendent or of the State to set up a well-equipped graded school 


20 Rural School Survey of New York State, A report to the rural school patrons, by 
the Joint Committee on Rural Schools, Geo. A. Works, chairman. Ithaca, N. Y., 1922. 



128 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


through compulsory consolidation. The replies in the questionnaires sent to 
rural school patrons showed that they were in the majority of cases very 
much afraid of “ forced consolidation of schools.” In most communities 
people are not in an attitude of mind to consider the question as applied to 
their community on its merits. In view of this condition and the fact that 
this is a function over which the laymen should retain control, it would 
appear wise to repeal that portion of the act which gives to district superin¬ 
tendents of schools the power to redefine district boundaries. 

The committee points out the defects of the district system, gives 
the reasons for a larger unit of school control, and recommends that 
the community be made the unit of local administration, each dis- 


PENNSYLVANIA 



• COHSOLIDATED SCHOOLS 
O COHSOLILATIOH PROJECTS 


Hap 24.—Showing the consolidated schools and incomplete consolidation projects in 

Pennsylvania, February 1, 1922. 

trict within the community retaining its present boundaries unless 
changed by a vote of the districts; that the compulsory consolidation 
law be repealed; that community units be grouped into intermediate 
units for purposes of supervision; and that the district superin¬ 
tendent be the professional officer of the board of the intermediate 
unit. The committee hopes that by some such organization lay 
and professional officers will unite in constructive activities that 
will bring about better schools. 

Pennsylvania .—Taking the entire State school system into con¬ 
sideration the percentage of centralization, including cities, is small. 
If only the rural schools are considered, it is very small. Of 15 
States reporting to the Bureau of Education in 1919, Pennsylvania 







A STATEMENT by states. 129 

had the highest percentage of villages around which there were small 
one-room schools within a radius of 2£ miles. 

A. summary of the findings of a special inquiry made into consoli¬ 
dation in Pennsylvania are given on page 30. 

At the close of the school year 1920-21, of the 67 counties 38 had 
some consolidated schools, the highest number in any one county 
being 23. Nearly all of this has been brought about in the last five 
years. The accompanying map shows the location of the consoli¬ 
dated schools in the State and the incomplete projects on February 1, 
1922. No union districts had been formed. Seven joint consoli¬ 
dations had been approved by the State council. Ten joint high 
schools had qualified for Smith-Hughes funds. In 1921. $2^0,565 
was spent for transportation, and the State reimbursed the districts 
in $74,442 of that amount. 

Texas .—The following is from the report, of education in Texas, 
1919-1921: 

The following report as to school consolidation in our State is based upon 
the best figures obtainable during the last two years. I do not offer these 
figures as absolutely accurate, because of the fact that some other figures in 
the same reports have been found to be inaccurate. In addition, there were 
some counties and independent districts from which I was unable to obtain 
reports. Reports of consolidated schools up to the session 1919-20 gave 443 
consolidated schools in the country districts, 413 being schools for white pupils 
and 30 for colored pupils. 

Reports gave 51 independent districts as consolidated schools formed pre¬ 
viously to the session of 1919-20. 

Reports for the session of 1919-20 indicate a remarkable progress in con¬ 
solidation, there having been reported 130 consolidations in country districts 
and 7 in independent districts, making an increase of about 28 per cent on the 
number of consolidated schools which we had previously. 

Reports for the year 1919-20 show 106 transportation wagons in use for the 
purpose of carrying children to and from school; 2,685 public-school children 
are transported at public expense. 

The work of school consolidation in Texas is in its infancy and has been 
carried on in a haphazard way. The effective method would be to have a survey 
made of each county, and, as a result of this survey, to determine which dis¬ 
tricts could be consolidated to the advantage of the school children of the 
county, and carry out such consolidation according to a systematic plan, plac¬ 
ing elementary schools so as to provide school advantages for all children 
of the county, and placing high schools where they can best serve a majority. 
Plans can then be made for the transportation of children too remote from 
high schools or elementary schools. The principal obstacles to school consoli¬ 
dation are to be found in local prejudices, local jealousies, and in real estate 
considerations. Too often each district wants the schoojhouse placed for its 
own convenience and will not consider the equal claims of other districts. 
In some cases neighborhood feuds, existing for generations, prevent the people 
of a community from uniting to establish good schools for their children. The 
most common cause of the defeat of plans for consolidation is the fact-that 
certain wealthy property owners oppose these plans; first, because they fear 


130 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


that a stronger school will mean higher taxes; and, second, because they know 
that the property valuation of the real estate contiguous to a strong consoli¬ 
dated school will be materially increased, and they fear that others will 
receive this advantage which can not accrue to them. We shall probably never 
be able to carry out any systematic plans for school consolidation until the ab¬ 
solute power to consolidate schools is placed in the hands of the county school 
board. The county school board is sufliciently local and sufficiently near to 
the people of the county to have their best interests at heart, and, in my 
opinion, the absolute power to settle all school district lines should be granted 
to the county school boards, leaving, as at present, the power of appeal against 
any possible unjust decisions to the higher school authorities. 

Arizona .—The State office reported 29 consolidated schools in 1920, 
and says concerning consolidation: 

County school superintendents have experienced considerable difficulty in 
bringing about successful consolidations. In the first place, physical conditions 
are decidedly against it in this State. Very often most insignificant mountain 
ranges make it necessary to travel far out of one’s way in order to arrive at 
one’s destination. Also, our roads are not always good, and during portions of 
the year they are extremely difficult to travel. 

So long as cattle raising is such an important industry, schoolhouses will of 
necessity be scattered, and transportation impracticable and expensive. One 
hundred to one hundred and twenty-five dollars is often paid to the driver of a 
school bus, and in some cases as many as three busses are used to bring the 
children to a single consolidated school. The transportation charges are so 
high that the majority of taxpayers prefer to hire a teacher and pay the run¬ 
ning expenses of a school rather than to pay a driver to transport the children. 
Then, too, consolidation is not always popular with the residents of the pro¬ 
posed consolidated districts. They have become so attached to and proud of 
their small district, with its local trustees and teacher, whom perhaps they 
have known from childhood, that it is most difficult to present the cause in so 
attractive a form as to bring about a vote large enough to assure consolidation. 

However, in several of the counties, especially Maricopa, consolidated schools 
have been so superior to the meagerly equipped and poorly attended country 
schools that the movement is gaining in popularity. The percentage of consoli¬ 
dations, however, will never be large, as the industries and physical condition 
of the State are not conducive to this class of schools. 

Nevada .—Three counties of the State report four consolidated dis¬ 
tricts. The largest of these is a town consolidation maintaining 
schools that employ a total of 20 teachers or more and serve the chil¬ 
dren of the greater part of the Newlands reclamation project. The 
farm units on the project are smaller than the average for the State 
and the area more densely populated. 

The other three consolidations are schools of four teachers or less 
and are located in small agricultural valleys. 

As in some other western highland States there is a trend toward 
the county unit, and county high schools with dormitories are de¬ 
veloping. 

Educational district No. 1 of Clark County was established by 
special enactment in 1919. It embraces about one-tliird of the county, 


A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


131 


is a district of the first class, and is governed by a board of education 
of five members. The board has charge of all the schools of the dis¬ 
trict. It maintains two 12-grade schools, two outlying schools of 6 
and 7 grades, respectively, and three 1-room schools. For the pur¬ 
pose of taking the school census and of apportioning State and county 
money, eacli of the districts that united to form Educational district 
No. 1 is retained as a subdistrict. 

There are 16 county and “county high-school district” high 
schools. They represent a centralization of the entire secondary 
educational effort of a county, or a large part of a county, are under 
an administration entirely separate from that of the elementary 
schools, and may or may not be coterminous with the boundaries of 
one or more school districts. Two or three of the larger county high 
schools are maintaining dormitories for students that live too far 
from the school to go to and from school daily. 

STATES THAT HAVE SO PROVIDED FOR HIGH SCHOOLS AS TO 

MAKE THE NEED FOR CONSOLIDATION LESS KEENLY FELT. 

Illinois and California have established so many high schools that 
there has been less of a demand for the consolidation of elementary 
schools—the former through township and community high schools, 
the latter through union high schools. These are kinds of partial 
consolidation by grades for secondary-school purposes, and the re¬ 
sulting central schools have been developed to a considerable degree 
of effectiveness in both States. There is little elementary school 
consolidation in either. 

Illinois —The school laws of 1921 contain provisions for the fol¬ 
lowing kinds of high schools: 

1. Community consolidated school districts formed by a majority 
of the votes cast in any compact and contiguous territory bounded 
by school district lines. These may offer secondary instruction. 

2. Township high schools established by a majority vote of the 
township. 

3. High-school districts that include the territory of two or more 
townships or two or more districts in the same or different townships. 

4. High-school districts composed of parts of adjoining townships 
or of a congressional township and parts of one or more adjoining 
townships. 

5. If part of any township has been included in any high-school 
district, the remainder of the township constitutes a township for 
high-school purposes. 

6. If a city of not less than 1,000 nor more than 100,000 popula¬ 
tion is in two or more townships, the township in which a majority 


132 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


of the inhabitants of the city reside, with the city, is a school town¬ 
ship for high-school purposes. 

7. If a township contains two political towns divided by an un¬ 
bridged navigable stream, each town is a township for high-school 
purposes. 

8. A school district having a population of 2,000 or more may 
establish a township high school. 

9. Any contiguous compact territory may by majority vote estab¬ 
lish a community high school. 

10. In each county of the State all territory not included in any 
high-school district is organized into a nonhigh-school district for 
the purpose of levying a tax to' pay the tuition of all eighth-grade 
graduates of the nonhigh-school district at high schools in other 
districts. 

Township high schools have organized rather rapidly under these 
acts, and to a certain extent their successful operation has removed 
the feeling of necessity for consolidation of elementary schools. 
One of the strongest factors in securing the establishment of con¬ 
solidated schools has been the desire of parents to give their chil¬ 
dren the advantages of secondary instruction, a factor not present 
in Illinois because the township high school has largely filled the 
need. In 1916 there were 265 township high-school districts, and 
the question of establishing such a school was pending in more than 
40 communities. They enrolled an average of 162 pupils each. 

The higli-school tuition law, first enacted in 1913 and amended in 
1917, has also helped to centralize secondary education. In 1920 
there were 19,319 tuition students in the high schools, and nonhigh- 
school districts expended $1,439,003 for their tuition. 

In 1919 the advocates of consolidation succeeded in securing the 
enactment permitting community consolidated schools and commu¬ 
nity high schools by a majority vote of the entire territory to be 
affected. A summary of consolidation in 1921 is : 21 

Consolidations in country, 16; in towns 62; total, 78. 

Districts consolidated, 325; square miles, 1,423. 

Number of grade teachers before consolidation, 603; after, 481. 

Number of high-school teachers, 127. 

Enrollment in grades, 7,442; in high school, 1,337. 

High-school courses—two years, 15; three years, 8: four years, 18. 

Vocational subjects taught—agriculture, 14; manual training, 5; cooking and 
sewing, 10. 

Number conducting community work, 5; number offering public conveyance, 14; 
vehicles, 32. 

Number of consolidated districts cooperating with community or township high 
schools, 14. 

21 Information on Consolidated Schools in Illinois and Other States for School Officers. 
Issued by Francis G. Blair, superintendent of public instruction, p. 57. 



A STATEMENT BY STATES. 


133 


California .—Following the law of 1891 high schools were estab¬ 
lished rapidly. In 1892 there were 36 union high schools; 98 in 
1895; and in 1900 there were 105 high schools, including city, dis¬ 
trict, and union. By 1914 there was a total of 214 high schools, and 
in 1920 there were 320, distributed as follows: County, 14; city, 61; 
district, 43; union, 183; joint union, 19. 

The secondary-school enrollment grew from 39,115 in 1910 to 
144,494 in 1920. In 1916 it was stated: 22 

To-day there is scarcely a child that does not have the advantages of high- 
school education easily within his reach. Ninety per cent of the children of 
California live within 10 miles of a high school, and, with our good roads, good 
climate, and automobile transportation, we have now practically provided sec¬ 
ondary education for all the children of the State. 

This growth of secondary schools is attributed to the basis of 
taxation, whereby funds automatically increase as the number of 
children increases, State aid provided for in 1901 and given only to 
schools that maintain high standards, unusually high qualifications 
set for teachers, and large freedom given to secondary schools in 
arranging their courses and planning their work. 23 

Junior colleges and junior high schools were provided for in 1907. 

With such a secondary-school development it is easy to under¬ 
stand why consolidation, as the term is most often used, has not 
made great progress in California. Moreover, in comparative terms, 
the State has kept its schools fairly well centralized. By 1870 there 
were 1,239 school districts and enrollment of 91,332. In 1920, half a 
century later, there were 3,342 districts, enrolling 696,238. No very 
great increase in number of districts has taken place since 1900, 
although the school enrollment has more than doubled. The decade 
1910 to 1920 shows an increase of only 88 districts, and there has 
teen a definite decrease since 1917, when the maximum for the de¬ 
cade was reached. During the 10 years the school enrollment was 
augmented by nearly one-third of a million children—exactly, 
327,847. 

In 1916, 27 union elementary schools formed under the law of 
1901 are reported. The number increased slowly until by June 30, 
1920, there were 59 union and 71 joint-union districts. A report 
for September, 1920, is summarized as follows: 


Union elementary districts- 77 

Number consolidated to form union-201 

Unions formed since April 1, 1919- 32 

Number consolidated to form unions- 100 

Unions under way---- 35 

Districts involved-103 


22 Cubberly, Ellwood P. Some Recent Developments in Secondary Education. In 
Education, October, 1916. 

88 Ibid. 









184 


SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION. 


As means of furthering consolidation the State superintendent 
recommended in his 1920 report that the method of forming a union 
district be made easier, that any school district be authorized to 
contract with another district for the education of its children, and 
a constitutional amendment making the county unit plan optional 
be submitted. 

A SYSTEM OF SCHOOLS ADMINISTERED DIRECTLY BY THE 
STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 

Delaware .—The county unit law of 1919 provided for consolida¬ 
tion of schools by the county board of education on recommenda¬ 
tion of the county superintendent, and for transportation of pupils 
when they lived in excess of 2 or 3 miles from a school of the 
proper grade. 

In 1921 the system was changed from county unit to State unit, 
county boards of education and county superintendents were elimi¬ 
nated, and consolidation provided for by a referendum vote of the 
districts involved. Transportation was not mentioned, but an ap¬ 
propriation for “ transportation and replacement ” was made. All 
the business details of the schools are concentrated at the State office. 
Branch offices are maintained at each county seat. 

The State department reports: 24 

No consolidation of white schools has taken place since the repeal of the 
school code of 1919. In that year the following consolidations were made: 

New Castle County .—To Alexis I. du Pont were added Diamond and Oak 
Hill districts, while Sliellpot school was closed, a part of the pupils going to 
Du Pont and a part to Mount Pleasant. 

To St. Georges was added Franklin. 

To Odessa were added McDonough, Dales Corner, and Matthews Corner. 

To Middletown were added Brown Cottage, Armstrong, Eight Square, 
Jamisons Corner, and Mill Lane. 

Kent County .—To Smyrna were added Clayton, Alley, Brenford, Big Oak, 
and Severson’s districts. This was subsequently dissolved, Clayton and Alley 
becoming one; while Smyrna, with the other districts, became the other. 

To Caesar Rodney, a union of the schools of Wyoming and Camden, were 
added Rising Sun, Lebanon, Moores, Du Pont, Oak Shade, and Franklin. 

To Harrington were added Brown’s Neck, Little Masten’s, and Powell's 
districts. 

Sussex County .—The Lord Baltimore represented a union of the schools of 
Millville and Ocean View. 

Only one school district during the year took advantage of the referendum 
provisions of the law of 1921 and voted to close school, Lynchs, near Roxana, 
Sussex County. 

None of the above-mentioned consolidations meant the erection of new build¬ 
ings, though they have meant making available the use of temporary rooms, 
either by rental, as in the case of Middletown, or by construction by private 


24 Delaware Sch. Rep., 1921-22, Holloway, pp. 31, 32, 33. 



135 




A STATEMENT BY STATES. 

parties and rental, as in the case of Clayton, where three such rooms were 
thus secured. 

Consolidations of colored schools, however, were made at Frankford, Mills- 
boro, and Cheswold, which consolidations were made possible by new buildings 
constructed by the Delaware State Auxiliary Association. 

Had there been any means provided by the legislature of 1921 for buildings, 
probably other consolidations would have been made. 

When funds for new buildings become available, it is hoped and believed 
that the movement toward further consolidations will receive a big impetus. 
Under no circumstances should the State consent to a replacement of the 
present one-teacher schools by other one-teacher schools to serve the same 
district. There are a few places in the State where distances and road condi¬ 
tions will probably make advisable the continuation of the one-teacher white 
school, but they are not many. 

Two types of consolidation of schools are to be found in this State: (1) Com¬ 
plete, represented by Middletown and Caesar Rodney, and (2) partial, to be 
found in practically every section of the State. In the former all pupils in the 
districts consolidated living beyond a certain distance are transported to 
school; in the latter case high-school and upper grammar grades only are 
transported, but retain the old one-room schools for the primary children, who 
attend school near home. The supposition is that this plan favors the little 
folks by avoiding the hardship of transportation, but the assumption is mis¬ 
leading and false. Under a properly organized transportation system the hard¬ 
ships of travel exist largely in the imagination of the people who champion 
this plan. It is a greater hardship for little children to walk to school 
through snow, slush, rain, and mud for a distance of a mile or more than it is 
for them to ride to school in a comfortable bus for a distance of 4 or 5 miles. 
Besides, children lose all the incentive, competition, encouragement, and 
enthusiasm of large classes at the central school. Add to this handicap the 
fact that the children are doomed to the monotonous and deadening routine of 
small classes, in school buildings that lack every convenience and comfort of a 
modern schoolhouse, and the further fact that their teachers are deprived of 
the expert supervision of a good principal, and the folly of the system at once 
becomes apparent. 


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